​Putin Thanks Kim For ‘Heroic’ North Korean Troops That Helped Liberate Kursk

For the first time the governments of Russia and North Korea have issued coordinated statements of high-level confirmation that North Korean troops were sent to fight for Russia against Ukraine, having been deployed months ago.

The statements described that the large foreign troop contingency helped liberate Russia’s Kursk border region, after a Ukrainian incursion and occupation which stretched all the way back to last August.

Putin said Monday that the population would never forget the ‘heroic’ feats of North Korea’s special forces. “We will always honor the Korean heroes who gave their lives for Russia, for our common freedom, on par with their Russian brothers in arms.”

He further declared they had helped defeat the “neo-Nazi formations” sent by Ukraine and that this was based on “solidarity” and “genuine comradery”

Putin finally confirms North Korean troops have been fighting against Ukraine, pursuant to the mutual defense provision of the June 2024 treaty signed by Russia and North Korea. At the time, it was ambiguous how robust that treaty was to believed to be. Turns out, quite robust pic.twitter.com/PbxjRrkVeL

— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) April 28, 2025

It was only days ago that Putin officially declared the full liberation of Kursk had been accomplished, after the Ukrainians were pushed out of the final border village of Gornal.

Along with huge amounts of artillery shells and likely even ballistic missiles, North Korea has sent “14,000 troops, mostly members of its special operations units, to Russia, including 3,000 dispatched earlier this year to replace those killed or wounded, according to South Korean officials,” the NY Times writes.

All of this was based on a mutual defense treaty inked in Pyongyang last summer. While details have been somewhat scant, it has become clear that the treaty is “quite robust” - as journalist Michael Tracey has pointed out.

As for North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, KCNA quoted him Monday as saying, “They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honor of the motherland.”

North Korea “regards it as an honor to have an alliance with such a powerful state as the Russian Federation,” he added. Ukraine has claimed to have captured both North Korean and even Chinese troops. 

As for Kursk, at the height of the cross-border offensive Ukraine’s military had seized just over 530 square miles, but regional reports indicated a week ago that significant figure was down to less than just 20 square miles – and then came the final assault to liberate Gornal.

Prior South Korean intelligence reports have claimed the North Koreans lost over 1,000 casualties in Kursk. But nothing official on this has ever been issued from any side.