Putin thanks North Korea for sending troops to fight Ukraine: 'Will never forget the heroism'

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday thanked North Korea for sending troops to combat alongside Russia successful Moscow's warfare against Ukraine and vowed not to hide their sacrifices.

Putin's comments came conscionable hours aft North Korea confirmed for the archetypal clip that it had deployed troops to combat Ukrainian forces.

Russia said 2 days earlier that its troops had afloat reclaimed the Kursk region, which Ukrainian forces seized past year. Ukrainian officials person denied Russia's assertion and said that the cognition successful definite areas of Kursk is ongoing.

In a statement, Putin praised North Korean troops who helium said fought "shoulder to enarthrosis with Russian fighters, defended our Motherland arsenic their own."

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Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked North Korea for sending troops to combat alongside Russia successful Moscow's warfare against Ukraine. (Sputnik/Kristina Kormilitsyna/Kremlin via REUTERS)

"The Russian radical volition ne'er hide the heroism of the DPRK peculiar forces," Putin said. "We volition ever grant the heroes who gave their lives for Russia, for our communal freedom, warring broadside by broadside with their Russian brothers successful arms."

Earlier Monday, North Korea's Central Military Commission said the country's leader, Kim Jong Un, had sent troops to Russia to "annihilate and hitch retired the Ukrainian neo-Nazi occupiers and liberate the Kursk country successful practice with the Russian equipped forces." North Korean troops yet made "an important contribution" to Russia seizing the borderline territory, the committee said.

While this was North Korea's archetypal authoritative confirmation that its troops were deployed to Russia, it has repeatedly expressed its unwavering enactment of Russia's warfare against Ukraine.

U.S., South Korean and Ukrainian quality officials person said North Korea deployed 10,000-12,000 troops to Russia past autumn successful its archetypal engagement successful a large equipped struggle since the Korean War successful the aboriginal 1950s.

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Putin promised not to hide the sacrifices of North Korean troops sent to assistance Russia combat Ukrainian forces. (Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)

Putin and Kim said the deployment of North Korean troops was made nether a communal defence pact signed successful June 2024 that requires some countries to usage each disposable means to supply contiguous subject assistance if either is attacked.

The 2 U.S. adversaries person moved importantly person to each different successful caller years.

In summation to its deployment of troops, North Korea has been supplying a ample fig of accepted weapons to Russia. South Korea and the U.S. are acrophobic that Russia could reward North Korea with subject and economical assistance, including by transferring high-tech weapons technologies that tin bolster its atomic weapons program.

Kim citing North Korea’s relation successful Russia regaining power of the Kursk portion suggests his urgent tendency to person what helium wants from Russia, including its delicate subject technologies and a coagulated information committedness to North Korea, according to Moon Seong Mook, an expert for the Seoul-based Korea Research Institute for National Strategy.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Russia could supply subject assistance to North Korea if indispensable successful accordance with the defence treaty, Russian authorities media reported.

The deployment of North Korean troops was made nether a communal defence pact signed successful June 2024. (Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Kremlin via Reuters/File Photo)

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North Korea and Russia did not disclose however galore North Korean soldiers were sent to Russia oregon however galore casualties they suffered. But past month, South Korea’s subject assessed that astir 4,000 North Korean soldiers had been killed oregon wounded successful the Russia-Ukraine war. The South Korean subject besides said North Korea sent astir 3,000 further troops to Russia earlier this year.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry connected Monday called connected North Korea to retreat its troops from Russia immediately, arguing that the North’s enactment of Russia’s penetration of Ukraine poses a sedate provocation to planetary security. Ministry spokesperson Koo Byoungsam besides called the North’s deployment of troops "an enactment against humanity."

If Russia’s retaking of Kursk is confirmed, it would deprive Ukraine of cardinal leverage successful U.S.-brokered efforts to negociate an extremity to the warfare by exchanging its gains for immoderate Russia-occupied onshore successful Ukraine.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday helium doubts Putin wants to extremity the war. Just a time before, Trump had said Ukraine and Russia were "very adjacent to a deal."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.