Russia has, for the first time, admitted to deploying North Korean soldiers in the battle to repel Ukrainian forces from the Kursk region, following a surprise Ukrainian incursion across the Russian border last summer.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Saturday that it acknowledges the “significant contribution” of North Korean troops to Moscow’s military efforts.
Citing the Strategic Partnership Treaty between Russia and North Korea, signed on December 4, 2024, the Ministry stated that “a new page has been written in the glorious annals of the military brotherhood between the Russian and Korean peoples.”
“Soldiers of the Korean People’s Army fought side by side, in the same trenches, and shed blood alongside our soldiers and officers in the Kursk region, making a significant contribution to liberating Russian land from the invading enemy,” the Ministry declared.
General Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the Russian General Staff, informed President Vladimir Putin via video conference that North Korean soldiers had made a meaningful contribution to the “liberation” of the region from Ukrainian troops.
With this acknowledgment, Russia confirmed what Ukrainian and Western officials have long asserted: that Pyongyang deployed thousands of troops to fight alongside Russian forces in Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now entering its fourth year.
U.S. officials have reported that more than 11,000 North Korean soldiers participated in the fighting, suffering heavy casualties.
Gerasimov stated that the North Korean mission is in line with the partnership agreement between the two countries.
Russia claims to have pushed Ukrainian forces out of most of the Kursk region; however, Kyiv maintains that its forces are still operating inside Russian territory, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).
There have been growing international concerns that Russia may be providing North Korea with drone technology in exchange for significant military assistance.
Additionally, there has been a notable strengthening of relations between Moscow and Pyongyang since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Beyond sending soldiers, North Korea has also supplied Moscow with short-range missiles, vehicle artillery, and rocket launchers, according to South Korea’s military.
