Vladimir Putin has given 70 wild animals to Kim Jong-un as a symbol of friendship, just as 12,000 North Korean conscripts are preparing to battle Ukrainian troops in southern Russia.

The consignment was sent from Moscow Zoo to a zoo in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, Russia said on Wednesday.

It included a lion, two bears, a pair of yaks, five white cockatoos, 25 pheasants and 40 mandarin ducks.