North Korea’s Kim lauds ‘heroic’ troops deployed with Russia in Ukraine war
Kim Jong Un ‘conveyed warm encouragement’ to the officers and the soldiers serving in Russia’s Kursk region, state media reports.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has praised his troops deployed to help Russia in its war against Ukraine during a meeting with officers of the army’s overseas operation, state media reported.
Kim “conveyed warm encouragement” to the officers and the soldiers serving in Russia’s Kursk region, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Thursday, referencing an area where intelligence agencies say Pyongyang has sent more than 10,000 fighters
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“Ours is a heroic army,” Kim was quoted as saying in a speech to members of the military in the capital.
“Our army is now doing what it ought to do and what needs to be done. It will do so in the future, too,” he added.
Russia and North Korea have been forging increasingly close ties, with North Korea in April confirming for the first time that it had deployed a contingent of its soldiers to the front line to fight alongside Russian troops.
Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the strategic partnership treaty in June last year, which includes a mutual defence pact.
South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have said Pyongyang sent more than 10,000 soldiers to Russia’s Kursk region in 2024, along with artillery shells, missiles and long-range rocket systems.
About 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed and thousands more wounded fighting for Russia, Seoul has said.
Kim’s remarks come as United States President Donald Trump has been pushing for an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, having held high-profile talks with the leaders of both countries in recent days.
But Russian President Vladimir Putin, who last week hailed the North Korean soldiers as “heroic,” has up to now avoided meeting his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy for talks.
