North Korea confirms troop deployment to Russia for first time, hails ‘heroes’
North Korea confirmed for the first time on Monday that it had sent troops to fight for Russia in the war with Ukraine under the order of leader Kim Jong-un and made an important contribution to the liberation of Russian territory occupied by Ukraine.
The victorious end of the battle to liberate Russia’s Kursk region showed the “highest strategic level of the firm militant friendship” between North Korea and Russia, the KCNA state news agency cited the North’s ruling party as saying.
Russia said last week that Ukrainian forces had been expelled from the last Russian village they had been holding, although Kyiv denied the claim and said their troops were still operating in Belgorod, another Russian region bordering Ukraine.
North Korean soldiers march in a parade in Pyongyang in 2018. Photo: AP
The Central Military Commission of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party said leader Kim Jong-un made the decision to deploy troops under the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty he signed with Putin last year.
“Under the order of the head of state, the subunits of the armed forces of the republic regarded the territory of Russia as the one of their country and proved the firm alliance between the two countries,” Korean Central News Agency cited the commission as saying.
“They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honour of the motherland,” KCNA quoted Kim as saying.
North Korea “regards it as an honour to have an alliance with such a powerful state as the Russian Federation”, it said.
