Moscow and Pyongyang have for the first time officially recognized that North Korean troops are fighting in the Russian war against Ukraine.
It has been largely reported for months that the North Korean chief Kim Jong Une had sent thousands of his elite troops to help Russian assaults on the ground in Kursk.
But Russia and North Korea have remained silent on the issue, even if the evidence has so far increased the direct participation of Pyongyang.
On Saturday, the Kremlin quoted Valery Gerasimov, the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of Russia, thanking the North Korean troops during a meeting with the Russian chief Vladimir Putin.
“I would like to note separately the participation of the military of the People’s Democrat Republic of Korea in the release of border areas of the Kursk region,” he said in Russian.
Gerasimov congratulated Pyongyang’s troops as showing “courage and heroism” and said they had “carried out shoulder combat missions with Russian soldiers”.
Monday morning, Pyongyang Time, North Korea, published his own official recognition of his troops against Ukraine.
The state media wrote that the North Korean combat units “participated in the release operations of the Kursk areas”.
The North Korean report used a formulation similar to Gerasimov, writing that his troops had “shed blood in the same shoulder shoulder” with the Russian forces.
Neither the Kremlin nor Pyongyang described specific plans for any other involvement of the North Korean troops in the war.
However, the North Korean state media added that Kim was “determined to involve the combat subunits of our armed forces in war”. Kim has also described the strengthening of links with Russia as a “sacred mission”.
The direct involvement of North Korea in hostilities in Ukraine has been largely interpreted as an important escalation of war, and there are fears that Pyongyang’s troops, which have so far been seen fighting in the Kursk Russia region, could be used to fight against the sovereign territory of Ukraine.
This could also create spill effects for South Korea soldiers.
While the reports emerged for the first time in the fall of 2024 that Russia received direct aid from Pyongyang, South Korea said that it could consider sending deadly aid to Ukraine, who went to Asia further in the war.
Ukrainian reports believe that around 14,000 North Korean troops were sent to fight in Kursk. Many were probably killed or injured when they were deployed in counter-attack infantry assaults.
Seoul and Washington have also repeatedly expressed concerns that North Korean troops acquire a precious combat experience, such as lessons on how to manage drones, fight in modern war against Ukraine.
Gerasimov and the North Korean state media reported that Kursk, that Ukraine invaded in a surprise attack in the summer of last year, had actually been rid of the kyiv forces.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, however, posted on Social Networks on Sunday that Ukraine was still fighting for “defensive positions” in Kursk.
businessinsider
