North Korea confirms it sent troops to Russia, calling them 'heroes'
North Korea confirmed for the first time Monday that its troops were fighting alongside Russia in its war against Ukraine, saying they helped Moscow take back control of its Ukraine-controlled Kursk region.
U.S., South Korean and Ukrainian officials have said North Korea sent as many as 12,000 troops to Russia last fall to fight in Kursk, which Ukrainian forces seized in a surprise incursion last August. North Korea had not confirmed or denied those reports until now.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the troops' deployment under a mutual defense pact that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed in June 2024, North Korea's Central Military Commission said in a statement that was carried by state-run news agency KCNA. The treaty includes a pledge of mutual defense if either country is attacked.
The statement said the operation to regain control of Kursk had been 'victoriously concluded' and that it was 'an honor to have an alliance with such a powerful state as the Russian Federation.'
'They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honor of the motherland,' Kim was quoted as saying.
The North Korean report came two days after Russia said it had recaptured Kursk with the help of North Korean soldiers, which was also its first confirmation of their presence in the conflict. Ukraine denied that Kursk had been retaken, saying its defensive operations are continuing in some areas.
If Russia is confirmed to have retaken Kursk, it would be a blow to Ukraine amid U.S.-led efforts to negotiate an end to the war, which is now in its fourth year. On Saturday, President Donald Trump questioned whether Putin — who last week launched one of the worst attacks on Ukraine's major cities since the war began — was willing to end the war.
In exchange for providing Russia with reinforcements, North Korea gains valuable experience for its military, which has not been deployed overseas since the Vietnam War. While North Korean soldiers are fiercely loyal to Kim, experts say their limited exposure to modern warfare leaves them vulnerable on the battlefield, especially against drones.
About 4,000 of the North Korean soldiers have been killed or injured, according to South Korean officials. They said last month that North Korea had sent an additional 3,000 troops to aid Russia's war effort since the start of this year.
The North Korean statement did not say how many of its troops were sent to Russia in total or how many casualties there have been.
Kim said a monument to their 'battle feats' would be erected in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, and that flowers would be placed 'before the tombstones of the fallen soldiers.' He also said measures should be taken to 'preferentially treat and take care of the families of the brave soldiers who participated in the war.'
The South Korean Ministry of National Defense denounced the North Korean troop deployment and said that by officially announcing it the North had "effectively admitted to its criminal behavior."
'Our military strongly urges North Korea to immediately cease its deceitful and inhumane actions that threaten international peace and force the sacrifice of its residents through illegal military dispatches,' the ministry said Monday.
The deployment of troops to Russia is just part of Kim's efforts to expand the capabilities of his nuclear-armed military. On Friday, he unveiled a new naval destroyer at a ceremony at a military shipbuilding dock in the port of Nampo, KCNA reported Saturday, saying the 5,000-ton warship would enter service early next year.
The warship was built 'within 400-odd days perfectly with our own strength and technology' and is equipped with the 'most powerful weapons,' the report quoted a secretary in Kim's party as saying.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
6 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy wants Trump to pressure Russia and help broker an end to the war
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told ABC This Week co-anchor Martha Raddatz that he sees Donald Trump as a key figure who can end the war between his nation and Vladimir Putin 's Russia. In an interview that aired Sunday, the Ukrainian President noted that 'the majority of wars were finished with some kinds of agreements … [with] strong third parties involved who can put pressure on the aggressor,' Zelenskyy told Raddatz. 'Are there enough levers and powers to stop this in the United States? Yes, I am convinced that the president of the United States has all the powers and enough leverage to step up,' Zelenskyy continued. 'He can unite around him other partners like European leaders,' he concluded. 'They [are] all looking at the President Trump as a leader of the free world, a free, democratic world, and they are waiting for him,' Zelenskyy added. The Ukrainian President also called for America to pressure Russia via economic sanctions, noting that only the United States can actually make a difference. 'It doesn't matter who wants, apart from the United States, to apply sanctions against Russia,' Zelenskyy stated. 'If it's not the United States, there will be no real impact.' Ukrainian Pres. Zelenskyy told @MarthaRaddatz his country is ready for a ceasefire brokered by the Trump administration: "I am convinced that the president of the United States has all the powers and enough leverage to unite European leaders.' — This Week (@ThisWeekABC) June 8, 2025 Some Washington, DC Republicans agree with the Ukrainian President's calls to be tougher on Russia. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Emeritus, Michael McCaul (R-Texas) told Fox News' Shannon Bream in a Sunday morning interview that he believes his House colleagues would support a bill by Senator Lindsey Graham to put extreme pressure on Russia. 'So, you have to put pressure. How do you do that? Secondary sanctions. Lindsey Graham has a bill. If he passes it tomorrow, we'll pass it in the House,' McCaul said. 'And secondly, keep the flow of weapons going into Ukraine to pressure Mr. Putin to act in good faith. I have little confidence in him,' McCaul added. Graham's bill would place a 500% tariff on any nation that purchases Russian oil, uranium, and petroleum products. The legislation presently has the support of a bipartisan group of 82 members of the United States Senate. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala) is one of the cosponsors of Graham's bill, but is at the same time no fan of Zelenskyy's. Tuberville told WABC 770 AM host John Catsimatidis in a Sunday morning interview that he views Zelenskyy as 'dictator'. 'He knows that if he had an election he'd get voted out … Back during World War II, we had elections. You can't stop your constitution just because there's a war going on.' 'That's when you really need to look into your constitution. Zelenskyy is a dictator, and he has created all sorts of problems,' Tuberville stated. 'We've got a lot of money that's been missing. No telling where it's gone … It's way out of control. But the Biden administration allowed it to happen. It really escalated the last couple of years.' 'My God! It would be like our Vietnam War. But it's probably three or four times worse than the Vietnam war, because we only lost 50,000. I think both of these [nations] have lost close to 500,000 to 700,000 people. It's devastating to the world,' Senator Tuberville added.
Reuters
6 hours ago
- Reuters
Ukraine's Zelenskiy vows to press on with prisoner exchanges with Russia
June 8 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed on Sunday to press on with prisoner exchanges with Russia and said any failure by Moscow to uphold humanitarian accords cast doubt over U.S. and other efforts to end the more than three-year-old conflict. Zelenskiy also warned Ukrainians to be attentive to air raid warnings in the aftermath of heavy Russian air attacks. The president was speaking a day after Russian officials accused Ukraine of postponing the latest prisoner swap indefinitely. A Ukrainian official had already rejected the Russian allegation. Speaking in his nightly video address, Zelenskiy said Ukraine had not yet received the full list of prisoners to be released under agreements clinched in talks in Turkey. "The Russian side is therefore, like always, even in these matters, is trying to play some kind of dirty political and information game," Zelenskiy said. "The important thing is to get a result, to ensure that people are brought home. We believe that the exchanges will continue and will do everything for this. "If the Russians do not stand by agreements even in humanitarian matters, it casts great doubt on all international efforts -- including those by the United States in terms of talks and diplomacy." U.S. President Donald Trump has put pressure on both Ukraine and Russia to move towards a resolution on the war. Ukraine has said it backs a U.S. call for a 30-day ceasefire, while Russia says certain conditions must first be met. In concluding his address, Zelenskiy urged Ukrainians to be especially attentive to air raid warnings. "In the coming days we must pay attention to air raid warnings," he said. "Look after yourselves, look after Ukraine."
Telegraph
7 hours ago
- Telegraph
Ukraine turns on Poland over WW2 massacre commemoration
Ukraine has criticised Polish plans to establish a remembrance day for Poles massacred by Ukrainians during the Second World War. Poland's parliament this week approved a new public holiday on July 11 to commemorate victims of a 'genocide' committed by Ukrainian nationalist groups during the conflict. The date marks what Poles call 'Volhynian Bloody Sunday', when a 1943 operation by Ukrainian death squads killed thousands of civilians in settlements across the Wolyn province, which is mostly now in Ukraine and known as Volyn. Ukraine's foreign ministry attacked the move, saying the decision to commemorate what it described as a 'so-called genocide' flew in the face of 'good neighbourly relations between Ukraine and Poland'. 'Poles should not look for enemies among Ukrainians, and Ukrainians should not look for enemies among Poles. We have a common enemy – Russia,' it said. It added: 'The path to true reconciliation lies through dialogue, mutual respect and joint work by historians, rather than through unilateral political assessments.' Volodymyr Zelensky has commemorated the massacre with the laying of wreaths, but labelling the killings a genocide continues to be a contentious issue between the two countries. Although Poland has been one of Ukraine's staunchest backers in its fight against Russia, relations have been strained due to rows over EU policies that favour Ukrainian agriculture. Polish farmers have picketed the Ukraine border to protest grain shipments being diverted from the Black Sea through Poland, a move, they say, which undercuts domestic produce. Brussels has also scrapped tariffs on Ukrainian grain, although this duty-free regime is set to end on July 5. One survey found over 80 per cent of Poles supported the farmers. Narol Nawrocki, Poland's new president, has also struck a more critical tone than his predecessor on support for Ukraine, saying Kyiv should not be admitted to the EU. Though the president's role is largely ceremonial, he has the power to veto legislation. An estimated 100,000 Poles were killed by Ukrainian nationalists during the Second World War in an attempt to ensure that Wolyn did not become part of postwar Poland. The Bloody Sunday attack was planned so that the death squads would surprise as many Poles as possible during the Sunday mass, according to the Second World War Museum in Gdansk. Several leading Polish politicians have signalled in the past that acknowledging the massacres as a genocide is a precondition for Poland to support Ukraine's future EU membership. 'We want Ukraine to develop, but we cannot leave unattended a wound that has not healed,' Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, the deputy prime minister, said last year.
