North Korea has for the first time confirmed that it sent troops to fight for Russia against Ukraine.
In a report on state news agency KCNA, Pyongyang’s military claimed its soldiers helped Russian forces “completely liberate” the Kursk border region, according to an order given by leader Kim Jong Un.
Pyongyang’s announcement comes just days after Russian Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov praised the “heroism” of North Korean troops, the first time Moscow has publicly acknowledged their involvement.
Western officials had earlier told the BBC they believed at least 1,000 of the 11,000 troops sent from North Korea had been killed over three months.
Gerasimov also claims Moscow regained full control of the country’s western Kursk region – a claim denied by Ukraine.
Responding to the statement, the US said North Korea must now bear responsibility for perpetuating the war.
South Korean and Western intelligence have long reported that Pyongyang dispatched thousands of troops to Kursk last year.
The decision to deploy troops was in accordance with a mutual defense treaty between Pyongyang and Moscow, KCNA said.
“They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honour of the motherland,” Kim said according to KCNA.
North Korea and Russia demonstrated their “alliance and brotherhood” in Kursk, adding that a “friendship proven by blood” will greatly contribute to expanding the relationship “in every way”.
It added that North Korea would support the Russian army again.
KCNA did not say what would happen to the North Korean troops after their mission in Kursk ended and whether they would be able to return home.
Reports that North Korean soldiers had been deployed to fight for Russia first emerged in October, following the deepening of bilateral ties between Kim and Putin.
This included the signing of an accord where both Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Kim agreed to support each other if either country was dealing with “aggression”.
Military experts have said that the North Korean troops, reportedly from an “elite” unit called the Storm Corps, are unprepared for the realities of modern warfare.
“These are barely trained troops led by Russian officers who they don’t understand,” former British Army tank commander, Col Hamish de Bretton-Gordon had said earlier this year.
Despite this, Ukraine’s top military commander Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi had earlier also warned that North Korean soldiers were posing a significant problem for Ukrainian fighters on the front line.
“They are numerous. An additional 11,000-12,000 highly motivated and well-prepared soldiers who are conducting offensive actions. They operate based on Soviet tactics. They rely on their numbers,” the general told Ukraine’s TSN Tyzhden news programme.
