Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday thanked North Korea for sending troops to combat alongside Russia in Moscow’s battle towards Ukraine and vowed to not neglect their sacrifices.
Putin’s feedback got here simply hours after North Korea confirmed for the primary time that it had deployed troops to combat Ukrainian forces.
Russia stated two days earlier that its troops had absolutely reclaimed the Kursk area, which Ukrainian forces seized final 12 months. Ukrainian officers have denied Russia’s declare and stated that the operation in sure areas of Kursk is ongoing.
In an announcement, Putin praised North Korean troops who he stated fought “shoulder to shoulder with Russian fighters, defended our Motherland as their very own.”
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Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked North Korea for sending troops to combat alongside Russia in Moscow’s battle towards Ukraine. (Sputnik/Kristina Kormilitsyna/Kremlin by way of REUTERS)
“The Russian folks will always remember the heroism of the DPRK particular forces,” Putin stated. “We are going to at all times honor the heroes who gave their lives for Russia, for our widespread freedom, combating facet by facet with their Russian brothers in arms.”
Earlier Monday, North Korea’s Central Navy Fee stated the nation’s chief, Kim Jong Un, had despatched troops to Russia to “annihilate and wipe out the Ukrainian neo-Nazi occupiers and liberate the Kursk space in cooperation with the Russian armed forces.” North Korean troops finally made “an essential contribution” to Russia seizing the border territory, the fee stated.
Whereas this was North Korea’s first official affirmation that its troops had been deployed to Russia, it has repeatedly expressed its unwavering assist of Russia’s battle towards Ukraine.
U.S., South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence officers have stated North Korea deployed 10,000-12,000 troops to Russia final fall in its first involvement in a significant armed battle because the Korean Warfare within the early Nineteen Fifties.
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Putin promised to not neglect the sacrifices of North Korean troops despatched to assist Russia combat Ukrainian forces. (Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Photos)
Putin and Kim stated the deployment of North Korean troops was made underneath a mutual protection treaty signed in June 2024 that requires each nations to make use of all out there means to offer quick navy help if both is attacked.
The 2 U.S. adversaries have moved considerably nearer to one another in recent times.
Along with its deployment of troops, North Korea has been supplying a lot of standard weapons to Russia. South Korea and the U.S. are involved that Russia might reward North Korea with navy and financial help, together with by transferring high-tech weapons applied sciences that may bolster its nuclear weapons program.
Kim citing North Korea’s position in Russia regaining management of the Kursk area suggests his pressing need to obtain what he needs from Russia, together with its delicate navy applied sciences and a stable safety dedication to North Korea, in response to Moon Seong Mook, an analyst for the Seoul-based Korea Analysis Institute for Nationwide Technique.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated Monday that Russia might present navy help to North Korea if obligatory in accordance with the protection treaty, Russian state media reported.
The deployment of North Korean troops was made underneath a mutual protection treaty signed in June 2024. (Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Kremlin by way of Reuters/File Photograph)
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North Korea and Russia didn’t disclose what number of North Korean troopers had been despatched to Russia or what number of casualties they suffered. However final month, South Korea’s navy assessed that roughly 4,000 North Korean troopers had been killed or wounded within the Russia-Ukraine battle. The South Korean navy additionally stated North Korea despatched about 3,000 extra troops to Russia earlier this 12 months.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry on Monday referred to as on North Korea to withdraw its troops from Russia instantly, arguing that the North’s assist of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine poses a grave provocation to worldwide safety. Ministry spokesperson Koo Byoungsam additionally referred to as the North’s deployment of troops “an act towards humanity.”
If Russia’s retaking of Kursk is confirmed, it could deprive Ukraine of key leverage in U.S.-brokered efforts to barter an finish to the battle by exchanging its features for some Russia-occupied land in Ukraine.
U.S. President Donald Trump stated Saturday he doubts Putin needs to finish the battle. Only a day earlier than, Trump had stated Ukraine and Russia had been “very near a deal.”
The Related Press contributed to this report.
