North Korea Confirms Its Military Deployment To Russia To War In Ukraine

Illustration of Russia and North Korea. (Twitter/@mfa_russia)

JAKARTA - North Korea on Monday confirmed for the first time it had sent its troops to fight for Russia in the war in Ukraine on orders from Leader Kim Jong-un and has helped regain control of the Russian territory occupied by Ukraine.

The end of a battle victory to free Russia's Kursk region showed the "highest strategic level of strong militant friendship" between North Korea and Russia, state news agency KCNA quoted the North Korean ruling party as saying.

The Central Military Commission of the North Korean Workers Party said Leader Kim made the decision to deploy troops based on a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement he signed with Russian President Vladimir Putin last year.

Under the orders of Leader Kim, North Korean military units fought with the same heroism and courage as they would have shown if they fought for their own country, KCNA quoted the Commission's statement.

"Those who fight for justice are all heroes and representatives of honor in the country," KCNA quoted Leader Kim as saying.

North Korea "considers it an honor to be allied with a country as strong as the Russian Federation," the media continued.

Earlier, Russia confirmed for the first time North Korean soldiers fought alongside them on Saturday.

Last week, Russia said Ukriana's forces had been evicted from their last Russian village, although Kyiv denied the claims and said their troops were still operating in parts of Russian territory.

Meanwhile, the US State Department demanded the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia and any support from Russia in return must end, adding Russia had violated UN Security Council resolutions by training North Korean soldiers.

Countries like North Korea, whose support has "resistanted the Russian-Ukraine war, bear responsibility," a US State Department spokesman told Reuters.

Separately, South Korea said confirmation of the deployment of troops on Monday was a "confession of criminal acts," and condemned North Korea for its "humane and immoral" decision to send its young people to the battlefield with the aim of supporting its regime.

The confirmation time, after more than six months of no news, and highlighted the sacrifices of North Korean troops "at the expense of blood" intended to strengthen Kim's partnership with Putin as the equivalent, an analyst said.

"Now it is important to showcase diplomatic performance for North Korean and Russian leaders to promise stronger relations," Hong Min of the Korean Institute for National Unity in Seoul said, calling the confirmation a "preparation" for a summit in Russia.

Ukrainian Special Operations Forces said on April 24, they had killed a unit consisting of 25 North Korean soldiers in Kursk. They released a video showing one of the soldiers killed and their property, which included records written in Korean.

North Korea is expected to send a total of 14,000 troops, including 3,000 reinforcements of substitute troops, Ukrainian officials said.

Due to the lack of armored vehicles and experience in unmanned aircraft warfare, they suffered many casualties but adapted quickly.

North Korea has also supplied weapons including artillery ammunition and ballistic missiles, South Korean officials said.