North Korea Confirms Troop Deployment to Support Russia in Ukraine War
North Korea has officially confirmed that it deployed troops to fight alongside Russia in its war against Ukraine, marking the first public acknowledgment of its involvement.
In a statement released on Monday via the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers’ Party said leader Kim Jong Un sent North Korean soldiers to assist Russia under a military pact signed last year.
Kim praised the troops for helping to “annihilate” Ukrainian forces and reclaim Russia’s Kursk region, describing them as “heroes” who upheld the “honour of the motherland.”
“We regard it as an honour to have an alliance with a powerful state like the Russian Federation,” KCNA quoted Kim as saying. He added that a monument would soon be built in Pyongyang to honour the fallen soldiers, with flowers laid at their tombstones in tribute.
According to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency, North Korea had previously remained silent about the scale of its deployment, despite reports that some 14,000 troops were sent last October, including 3,000 reinforcements following early battlefield losses.
Casualty estimates have varied. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service reported about 300 North Korean soldiers killed and 2,700 injured. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy put the number of North Korean casualties at 4,000, while the United States estimated around 1,200.
The confirmation comes days after Russia’s chief of staff, Valery Gerasimov, commended the “heroism” of North Korean forces during a briefing to President Vladimir Putin, claiming their contribution helped retake the Kursk region.
Ukraine’s General Staff, however, disputed Russia’s claims, insisting that defensive operations were still ongoing in parts of Kursk.
The U.S. State Department condemned North Korea’s involvement, accusing Pyongyang and other third-party countries of fueling Russia’s war effort and calling for an end to such support.
The deployment follows the signing of a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty between Russia and North Korea in June 2024, pledging mutual military assistance in times of conflict.
