After months of silence, North Korea has confirmed for the first time that it sent troops to Russia to support Moscow’s war against Ukraine.
It added that its forces had contributed to taking back Russian territory held by Ukraine’s military in the Kursk region.
In a statement provided to North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Monday, April 28, 2025, the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers’ Party said that the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, had sent troops into combat alongside Russian forces as part of a mutual defence treaty between Moscow and Pyongyang.
The ruling party was quoted as saying that the end of the battle in Russia’s Kursk region showed the “highest strategic level of the firm militant friendship” between North Korea and Russia.
The KCNA quoted Kim as saying that soldiers were deployed to “annihilate and wipe out the Ukrainian neo-Nazi occupiers and liberate the Kursk area in cooperation with the Russian armed forces.” Kim added, “They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honour of the motherland.”
Kim also said that North Korea “regards it as an honour to have an alliance with such a powerful state as the Russian Federation.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty in June last year, committing the two countries to come to each other’s assistance, militarily, in the event of war.
North Korea’s statement follows after Russia’s Chief of Staff, Valery Gerasimov, on Saturday confirmed the presence of North Korean soldiers.
Gerasimov hailed the “heroism” of the North Korean soldiers, who he said “provided significant assistance in defeating the group of Ukrainian armed forces”, while reporting to Putin that Kursk had been regained from Ukrainian forces.
Ukraine’s General Staff quickly countered, saying that its defensive operation in certain areas in Kursk was continuing.
Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said on Sunday that Ukraine’s army was still fighting in Russia’s Kursk despite Moscow claiming the “liberation” of its western region. “Our military continues to perform tasks in the Kursk and Belgorod regions – we are maintaining our presence on Russian territory,” he said in his evening address.
In a statement earlier on Sunday, he conceded that the situation remained difficult in many areas, including Kursk.
The US State Department said in a statement on Sunday evening that North Korea and other “third countries” had “perpetuated” Russia’s war on Ukraine and that it must end, as should Moscow’s support for Pyongyang.
North Korea’s Casualties
According to South Korea’s official News Agency, Kim also said that a monument would be built soon in the capital, Pyongyang, to honour those who had fought against Ukraine.
Kim’s reference to “the tombstones of the fallen soldiers” is seen as public confirmation by the regime that North Korean troops had been killed in combat.
Kim added that the country must “take important national measures to specially honour and care for the families of war veterans.”
Ukrainian officials said earlier this year that some 14,000 North Koreans were deployed against its forces, including 3,000 reinforcements who were sent to replace the North Koreans’ early battlefield losses.
Lacking armoured vehicles and unfamiliar with drone warfare, the North Koreans had taken heavy casualties early on in fighting but adapted quickly, according to reports, and later contributed to reclaiming Russia’s Kursk region from occupying Ukrainian forces.
Estimates of the casualty rate among North Korean forces fighting for Russia have varied widely.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) said in January that about 300 North Korean soldiers were killed in combat and another 2,700 had been injured.
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy put the number of killed or wounded North Koreans at 4,000, while the United States estimated a lower figure of about 1,200 casualties.
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