Pyongyang, North Korea – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un praised his forces fighting in support of Russia, during a meeting with the military leadership.
The official KCNA news agency reported that Kim “expressed his warm encouragement” to officers and soldiers serving in the Kursk region of Russia.
“We have a valiant army,” he stressed in a letter to North Korea’s military leadership in Pyongyang. Our army is now doing what it has to do and what needs to be done. And he will continue to do so in the future as well.”
The North Korean leader’s speech came as US President Donald Trump intensifies efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, without success yet.
Russia and North Korea have recently strengthened their relationship.
The two countries also signed a joint defense pact last year during Putin’s visit to North Korea.
North Korea confirmed last April that it had deployed a battalion of its soldiers on the front line with Ukraine alongside Russian forces.
South Korean and Western intelligence agencies assess that Pyongyang sent more than 10,000 troops to the Kursk region in 2024, in addition to artillery shells, missiles and long-range rocket launchers.
About 600 North Korean soldiers were killed and thousands more wounded during the fighting in support of Russia, according to Seoul.
