Russia has confirmed for the first time that it deployed North Korean soldiers in the battle to push Ukrainian forces out of its Kursk region following Kyiv's shock incursion into the border area last year.
In a statement on April 26, the Russian Foreign Ministry acknowledged the "significant contribution" of North Korean soldiers to Moscow's war efforts.
Hours later, Pyongyang also confirmed for the first time that it had deployed troops to Russia on the orders of leader Kim Jong Un.
Following the acknowledgments, the US State Department said it was concerned by North Korea's direct involvement in Russia's war.
"We continue to be concerned by [North Korea's] direct involvement in the war. [North Korea's] military deployment to Russia and any support provided by the Russian Federation to [North Korea] in return must end," a State Department spokesperson said in an e-mail to Reuters.
Russia's Foreign Ministry, citing the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Russia and North Korea from December 4, 2024, said that "a new page has been written in the glorious annals of the military brotherhood of the Russian and Korean peoples."
"The fighters of the Korean People's Army...fought shoulder to shoulder, in the same trench, and shed blood with our soldiers and officers in the Kursk region and made a significant contribution to the liberation of Russian land from enemy occupiers."
General Valery Gerasimov, chief of Russia’s general staff, told President Vladimir Putin in a video conference that North Korean soldiers had made a significant contribution to the "liberation" of the region from Ukrainian soldiers.
The comments confirmed what Ukrainian and Western officials have long said: that Pyongyang sent thousands of troops to fight alongside Russian forces in Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now in its fourth year.
US officials said more than 11,000 North Korean soldiers participated in the fight and had suffered massive losses.
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Gerasimov said the Korean mission was in line with the partnership agreement between the two countries.
"The soldiers and officers of the Korean People's Army who fought shoulder to shoulder with Russian soldiers in repelling the Ukrainian invasion showed high professionalism, bravery, courage, and heroism in battle," Gerasimov told Putin.
Russia has claimed to have pushed Ukrainian forces out of most of Kursk, although Kyiv has said its forces are holding on in the Russian region.
In late March, North Korean leader Kim paraded new military drones amid reports that he has sent an additional 3,000 troops to help Russia in its war on Ukraine.
SEE ALSO: Russia Launches Spring Offensive As Ukraine Invades Belgorod RegionPyongyang released images on March 27 showing Kim inspecting tests of reconnaissance and attack drones at an undisclosed location. There has been international concern that Russia is providing North Korea with drone technology in return for substantial military aid.
The same day Kim inspected the new drones, South Korea’s publicly owned Yonhap news agency cited the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) in Seoul as saying that "it appears that some 3,000 or more [North Korean troop] have been additionally dispatched [to Russia] in January and February."
The reported new troop deployment follows an earlier 11,000-strong contingent Pyongyang sent that has seen action in Russia's Kursk region.
In its statement early on April 28, North Korea said it would "faithfully implement" its agreement with Russia, according to state-run KCNA news agency. It added that North Korean troops had made an "important contribution to the liberation" of territory occupied by Ukrainian forces.
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"We can say that Russia is already becoming dependent on North Korea in many ways, not only in terms of shells, but also in terms of other weapons...as well as in terms of soldiers," Ukrainian analyst Oleh Saakyan told RFE/RL’s Current Time.
There has been a substantial warming in relations between Moscow and Pyongyang since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
As well as sending troops, North Korea has also sent short-range missiles, self-propelled howitzers and rocket launchers, according to the South Korean military.