Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday thanked North Korea for sending troops to fight alongside Russia in the war with Ukraine in Moscow and vowed not to forget their sacrifices.
Putin's comment comes hours after North Korea first confirmed that it had deployed its troops to fight Ukrainian forces.
Russia said two days ago that its troops had completely retracted the Kursk region, and Ukrainian troops occupied it last year. Ukrainian officials denied Russia's claims and said operations are underway in certain areas of Kursk.
Putin praised the North Korean troops in a statement, saying “fighting side by side with Russian fighters and defending our country itself.”
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Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked North Korea for sending troops to fight alongside Russia in the Moscow-Ukraine war. (Sputnik/Kristina Corcholitsyna/Kremlin via Reuters)
"The Russian people will never forget the heroism of the North Korean special forces," Putin said. "We will always respect the hero who sacrifices his life for Russia, for our common freedom, and fight alongside their Russian brothers."
Earlier on Monday, North Korea's Central Military Commission said that the country's leader Kim Jong-un had sent troops to Russia to "annihilate and eliminate Ukrainian neo-Nazi occupiers in Ukraine and cooperate with the Russian armed forces to liberate the Kursk region." The committee said North Korean forces ultimately made "important contributions" to Russia's occupation of border territory.
While this is the first time that North Korea formally confirms that its troops have been deployed to Russia, it repeatedly expressed its firm support for Russia's war against Ukraine.
U.S., South Korea and Ukrainian intelligence officials said North Korea deployed 10,000-12,000 soldiers to Russia last fall, the first time it has been involved since the Korean War in the early 1950s.
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Putin promised not to forget the sacrifice of sending North Korean troops to help Russia fight Ukrainian troops. (Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)
Putin and Kim said the deployment of North Korean troops was formulated under a mutual defense treaty signed in June 2024 that required both countries to use all available means to provide immediate military assistance.
In recent years, the two American opponents have been closer to each other.
In addition to deploying troops, North Korea also provides Russia with a large number of conventional weapons. South Korea and the United States are concerned that Russia can reward North Korea with military and economic aid, including transferring high-tech weapons technology that can strengthen its nuclear weapons program.
According to Moon Seong Mook, an analyst at Seoul Seong Mook, headquartered in Seoul, Kim’s role in North Korea’s Russia regained control of Russia’s role, showing his eagerness to accept what he wants from Russia, including its sensitive military technology and solid security commitment to North Korea.
Russian state media reported that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russia could provide military assistance to North Korea if necessary under the Defense Treaty.
The deployment of North Korean troops was conducted under a mutual defense treaty signed in June 2024. (Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Kremlin via Reuters/File Photo)
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North Korea and Russia did not disclose how many North Korean soldiers were sent to Russia or how many casualties they suffered. But last month, South Korean troops assessed about 4,000 North Korean soldiers who were killed or injured in the Russian-Ukrainian war. South Korean military also said North Korea sent about 3,000 soldiers to Russia earlier this year.
South Korea's Unification Ministry on Monday called on North Korea to withdraw its troops from Russia immediately, believing that North Korea's support for Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused serious provocations to international security. Ministry spokesman Koo Byoungsam also called the deployment of troops in the north "oppose human behavior."
If Russia is confirmed to regain Kursk, it will deprive Ukraine of its efforts to negotiate the war in its efforts to exchange its proceeds for some Russian-occupied land in Ukraine.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he suspected Putin wanted to end the war. Just a day ago, Trump said Ukraine and Russia were "very close to the deal."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.