Vladimir Putin has spoken out about North Korea’s assistance in the Ukraine war for the first time.
The Russian leader signed a mutual defence pact with Kim Jong Un last June.
Less than six months later, reports claimed North Korean troops were appearing on the frontline fighting against the Ukrainians.
They allegedly joined Putin’s forces trying to oust the Ukrainians holding the Russian region of Kursk, after it was seized in a surprise incursion last August.
The US, South Korea and Ukrainian intelligence officials said Pyongyang deployed up to 12,000 troops to Russia last year, in the country’s first major armed conflict since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
Despite the mounting evidence they were working together, North Korea and Russia always ignored or denied the reports about their alliance – until recently.
In a statement from the Kremlin, shared on Monday, Putin said the North Korean troops stood “shoulder to shoulder with Russian fighters, defended our Motherland as their own.”
The statement added: “Our Korean friends acted based on a sense of solidarity, justice and genuine comradeship.”
It follows the Russian chief of staff Valery Gerasimov’s praise for the “heroism” of the North Korean troops last week – which was the first time Moscow has ever acknowledged their involvement in the war.
It also follows North Korea’s decision to confirm its deployment to Kursk for the first time over the weekend.
Their sudden admission may be linked to Russia’s claim that its troops have fully reclaimed Kursk on Saturday – although Ukrainian officials deny being pushed out of the Russian region.
Meanwhile, Kim’s own statement said his troops were deployed to “annihilate and wipe out the Ukrainian neo-Nazi occupiers and liberate the Kursk area in cooperation with the Russian armed forces”.
He added: “They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honour of the motherland.”
The statement did not say how many troops had been deployed and how many had died.
In March, South Korea estimated Kim’s army had endured around 4,000 casualties, while the UK put the number at more than 5,000 losses.
It’s thought the North Korean troops struggled to work with their Russian counterparts on the battlefield, partly due to the language barrier.
The UK’s Ministry of Defence warned last November: ”[North Korean] troops conducting combat operations would almost certainly have issues operating Russian equipment, integrating into Russia’s command and control structure, and working around the language barrier with Russian forces.”
The North Koreans allegedly withdrew from Russia in January following substantial losses.
But North Korea has also been supplying conventional weapons to Russia – and there are fears Moscow could repay its friendship by sending the authoritarian country high-tech weapons technologies.
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