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.
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
