MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday publicly thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for deploying troops to assist Russian forces in reclaiming territory in Ukraine’s Kursk region, in a move that underscores deepening military ties between Moscow and Pyongyang.
“The Korean friends acted, guided by sentiments of solidarity, justice, and real camaraderie,” the Kremlin quoted Putin as saying during a televised address. “We appreciate it greatly and are deeply thankful to Comrade Kim Jong Un personally, and to the North Korean people.”
Putin’s remarks came just hours after North Korea officially confirmed for the first time that it had dispatched troops to Russia. The admission, reported by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), revealed that North Korean soldiers had actively participated in combat operations aimed at recapturing areas in Kursk that Ukrainian forces had seized during a surprise offensive last August.
General Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the Russian General Staff, also praised the North Korean forces over the weekend, lauding their “heroism” and crediting them with playing a “significant role” in Russia’s battlefield successes in the contested region.
The KCNA report quoted North Korea’s Central Military Commission as stating that its soldiers “participated in the operations for liberating the Kursk areas,” confirming months of speculation and intelligence reports. Western and South Korean intelligence agencies had previously estimated that Pyongyang deployed more than 10,000 troops to support Russian operations in Ukraine late last year.
Kim Jong Un framed the deployment as fulfilling obligations under a mutual defense treaty signed between North Korea and Russia. In his comments, Kim described the North Korean soldiers as “heroes and representatives of the honor of the motherland,” according to KCNA. He announced that a monument honoring their “battle feats” would soon be erected in Pyongyang.
In a rare acknowledgment of casualties, Kim also referred to “the tombstones of the fallen soldiers,” and pledged to “take important national measures to specially honor and care for the families of war veterans.”
The deployment of North Korean forces marks a significant development in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, further isolating Pyongyang internationally and heightening tensions on the Korean Peninsula. South Korea’s Defense Ministry swiftly condemned North Korea’s admission, calling it a clear violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions that prohibit the dispatch of military forces abroad without UN authorization.
“North Korea has admitted to its own criminal acts,” the South Korean Defense Ministry said in a statement Monday, warning that the move could trigger additional sanctions and further destabilize regional security.
The news of North Korean boots on the ground in Ukraine highlights the increasing strain faced by Russian forces as the war grinds on into its third year. It also signals a tightening of strategic alliances between nations sanctioned by the West, with Moscow and Pyongyang expanding both military and economic cooperation under growing international pressure.
Neither Russia nor North Korea has disclosed the exact number of troops deployed, the length of their deployment, or the scope of their engagement beyond the operations in Kursk. However, analysts suggest that the involvement of North Korean forces could set a troubling precedent for expanded military collaboration between the two nations.
As the conflict continues, Western leaders are expected to raise the issue of foreign troop deployments at upcoming sessions of the United Nations and the G7, where discussions about tightening sanctions on both Russia and North Korea are already underway.
