Kim Jong Un has confirmed he sent his troops to support Russian president Vladimir Putin’s war efforts in Ukraine in a rare admission months after North Korean soldiers were seen fighting in Europe.
Mr Kim said his deployment order was meant to “annihilate and wipe out the Ukrainian neo-Nazi occupiers and liberate the Kursk area in cooperation with the Russian armed forces”.
“They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honor of the motherland,” Mr Kim said on Monday.
Around 10,000 to 12,000 North Korean troops were estimated to have fought alongside Russian forces last fall in Kursk where Ukraine had launched a surprise incursion, according to the intelligence estimates from the US, South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence officials.
North Korea hadn’t confirmed or denied its reported troop deployments to Russia until Monday.
This comes as Ukraine denied Mr Putin’s claim that his forces have regained full control of the border region of Kursk, insisting that fighting is still ongoing.
However, Ukraine’s military called the Russian claim “propaganda tricks”. “The operational situation is difficult, but our units continue to hold their positions and perform their assigned tasks,” it said.
What to know about the battle for Russia’s Kursk region
Ukraine has denied Russian president Vladimir Putin’s claim that his forces have regained full control of the border region of Kursk, insisting that fighting is still ongoing.
Here are key moments of the battle for Kursk and its impact:
– Ukrainian forces pushed into Kursk on August 6, 2024, in a surprise attack.
– The incursion was a humiliating blow to the Kremlin — the first time the country’s territory was occupied by an invader since World War II.
– Ukraine said Kyiv’s forces captured nearly 1,300 square kilometres and about 100 settlements in the region that covers 29,900 square kilometres.
– The Kremlin bolstered Russian forces in Kursk in the autumn, and they gradually intensified their effort to drive out the Ukrainians.
– By February, Russia reclaimed about two-thirds of the captured territory, leaving Ukraine with an area around Sudzha, a border town that was Ukraine’s main hub in the region.
– Ukraine’s military General Staff dismissed Moscow’s claim of reclaiming full control of Kursk.
– If confirmed, Russia’s victory in Kursk would weaken Kyiv’s hand in peace talks, removing its bargaining chip for exchanging territory it lost earlier in the war.
Arpan Rai28 April 2025 04:49
US calls for North Korea’s military deployment in Russia’s war to end
The US State Department said it was concerned by North Korea’s direct involvement in Russia’s war in Ukraine and that Pyongyang’s military deployment for Russia must end.
“We continue to be concerned by (North Korea’s) direct involvement in the war. (North Korea’s) military deployment to Russia and any support provided by the Russian Federation to (North Korea) in return must end,” a State Department spokesperson said in an email to Reuters, adding third countries like North Korea “bear responsibility” for the war.
Arpan Rai28 April 2025 04:48
North Korea confirms it sent troops to Russia to support Putin’s war efforts
North Korea’s top leader Kim Jong Un has said he sent troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine, marking an official confirmation for the first time.
Mr Kim said he decided to send combat troops to Russia under a mutual defence treaty signed by him and Russian president Vladimir Putin in June 2024, the North’s Central Military Commission said in a statement carried by state media.
The statement cited Mr Kim as saying the deployment was meant to “annihilate and wipe out the Ukrainian neo-Nazi occupiers and liberate the Kursk area in cooperation with the Russian armed forces.”
“They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honor of the motherland,” Mr Kim said.
He added that a monument will soon be erected in Pyongyang to mark North Korea’s battle feats and that flowers will be laid before the tombstones of the fallen soldiers.
Mr Kim said the government must take steps to preferentially treat and take care of the families of the soldiers who took part in the war.
Arpan Rai28 April 2025 04:39
