Putin Thanks N. Korea for Helping Retake Kursk

By Staff, Agencies

In a statement released by the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that units of the North Korean army played an active role in pushing Ukrainian troops out of the border region “in full compliance with international law” and the strategic partnership deal signed between Moscow and Pyongyang in November 2024.

“Korean friends acted based on a sense of solidarity, justice and genuine comradeship. We highly appreciate this and are sincerely grateful personally to the President of State Affairs Comrade Kim Jong-un, the entire leadership and people of the DPRK,” Putin further said.

Putin noted that Russia pays tribute to “the heroism, high level of special training and dedication” of North Korean soldiers who, he said, “fulfilled their duty with honor and valor, covering themselves with unfading glory.”

“We are confident that the relations of friendship, good neighborliness and cooperation between our countries, tempered on the battlefield, will continue to successfully and dynamically develop in all areas,” he added.

On Saturday, Chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov declared that Russia retook control of the border region of Kursk, while also thanking North Korean soldiers who participated in military actions in the region in what was the first official confirmation of Pyongyang’s involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war, which began in February 2022.

Ukraine's General Staff said Gerasimov's remarks "do not correspond to reality," claiming Kiev's defensive operations in the region are still ongoing, but that the operational situation in the region is "difficult."