Dar es Salaam, April 28 -- NORTH KOREA: NORTH KOREA confirmed for the first time that it has sent troops to fight for Russia in the war with Ukraine.

In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin personally thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the role of North Korean troops in driving Ukrainian forces out of Russias Kursk region.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stressed the importance of the coming week for reaching an agreement with Russia and Ukraine to halt the fighting.

US President Donald Trump, for his part, said he thought Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy was ready to give up Crimea, a territory that Russia occupied in 2014.

Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said his troops are still fighting in Kursk, despite Moscow claiming...