A Vietnamese official has confirmed that North Korean forces fought on the side of North Vietnam against the American-backed South during the Vietnam War.

Correspondents say it's the first time an official has openly admitted that North Koreans played an active part in the conflict, although both Hanoi and Pyongyang have previously admitted to the presence of North Korean military advisers.

The official, Dang Quang Thanh, told the BBC that a delegation from Pyongyang recently visited a grave containing the bodies of fourteen North Korean pilots killed between 1966 and 1967. It's not clear how many North Koreans fought in the war, which ended in 1975 with a victory for the communist North.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service