Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and North Korea’s chief Kim Jong Un pose for a photograph throughout a signing ceremony of a brand new partnership in Pyongyang, North Korea in June, 2024.
Kristina Kormilitsyna/Sputnik Kremlin through AP
cover caption
toggle caption
Kristina Kormilitsyna/Sputnik Kremlin through AP
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea confirmed Monday for the primary time that it despatched troops to Russia to help its conflict towards Ukraine, saying the deployment was meant to assist Russia regain its Kursk area that Ukrainian forces seized in a shock incursion final yr.
U.S., South Korean and Ukraine intelligence officers have mentioned North Korea dispatched about 10,000-12,000 troops to Russia final fall in its first participation in a serious armed battle because the finish of the 1950-53 Korean Battle. However North Korea hadn’t confirmed or denied its reported troop deployments to Russia till Monday.
The North Korean announcement got here two days after Russia mentioned its troops have totally reclaimed the Kursk area. Ukrainian officers denied the declare.
North Korean chief Kim Jong Un determined to ship fight troops to Russia underneath a mutual protection treaty signed by him and Russian President Vladimir Putin in June 2024, the North’s Central Navy Fee mentioned in a press release carried by state media. The treaty — thought-about the 2 nations’ greatest protection settlement because the finish of the Chilly Battle — requires each nations to make use of all obtainable means to supply rapid army help if both is attacked.
The assertion cited Kim as saying the deployment was meant to “annihilate and wipe out the Ukrainian neo-Nazi occupiers and liberate the Kursk area in cooperation with the Russian armed forces.”
“They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honor of the motherland,” Kim mentioned.
Kim mentioned {that a} monument will quickly be erected in Pyongyang to mark North Korea’s battle feats and that flowers can be laid earlier than the tombstones of the fallen troopers. Kim mentioned the federal government should take steps to preferentially deal with and maintain the households of the troopers who took half within the conflict.
The North Korean assertion did not say what number of troops North Korea ultimately despatched and what number of of them had died. However in March, South Korea’s army mentioned that round 4,000 North Korean troopers had been killed or wounded within the Russia-Ukraine conflict fronts. the South Korean army additionally assessed on the time that North Korea despatched about 3,000 further troops to Russia earlier this yr.
North Korean troopers are extremely disciplined and effectively educated, however observers say they’ve change into straightforward targets for drone and artillery assaults on Russian-Ukraine battlefields as a consequence of their lack of fight expertise and unfamiliarity with the terrain. Nonetheless, Ukrainian army and intelligence officers have assessed that the North Koreans gained essential battlefield expertise and have been key to Russia’s technique of overwhelming Ukraine by throwing giant numbers of troopers into the battle for Kursk.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry on Monday urged North Korea to withdraw its troops from Russia instantly, saying the North’s help of Russia’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine poses a grave provocation to worldwide safety. Spokesperson Koo Byoungsam additionally known as the North’s troops’ deployment “an act against humanity” that has sacrificed younger North Korean troopers for his or her authorities.
In a Kremlin assembly Saturday, Valery Gerasimov, chief of the final workers for Russia’s armed forces, knowledgeable Putin of Russia’s regaining of the Kursk area. Gerasimov additionally confirmed that North Korean troopers fought alongside Russia to repel Ukrainian troops from the Kursk area and “demonstrated high professionalism, showed fortitude, courage and heroism in battle.”
Ukraine’s Common Employees countered that its defensive operation in sure areas in Kursk was persevering with.
If confirmed, Russia’s victory in Kursk would deprive Ukraine of key leverage in U.S.-brokered efforts to barter an finish to the greater than 3-year-old conflict by exchanging its good points for a few of Russia-occupied land in Ukraine.
On Saturday, President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met in Vatican Metropolis on the sidelines of funeral of Pope Francis to debate a possible ceasefire deal. Shortly after arriving in Rome on Friday, Trump mentioned on social media that Ukraine and Russia ought to meet for “very high-level talks” on ending the conflict. However lower than 24 hours later, Trump mentioned he doubted Putin’s willingness to finish the conflict.
In March, Kim expressed his unwavering help for Russia’s conflict in Ukraine throughout a gathering with a high Russian safety official, Sergei Shoigu, in Pyongyang. State media experiences mentioned Kim and Shoigu reaffirmed their dedication to uphold the mutual protection treaty. Russian Deputy International Minister Andrei Rudenko informed Russian media the governments have been discussing a possible go to by Kim to Moscow.
North Korea has been supplying an unlimited quantity of typical weapons to Russia as effectively. South Korea, the U.S. and their companions fear that Russia might reward North Korea by transferring high-tech weapons applied sciences that may sharply improve its nuclear weapons program. North Korea is anticipated to obtain financial and different help from Russia as effectively.
