The Russian authorities recognized last Saturday the participation of North Korean troops in the counteroffensive against the Ukrainian forces that penetrated the Russian region of Kursk coinciding with the declaration of the victory in this counterattack. “A new page arises in the glorious annals of the Military Brotherhood of the Russian and Korean peoples,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zajarova.
That same day, in addition, the Russian Staff Chief, Valery Gerasimov, during an informative meeting with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, acknowledged that North Korean troops had participated in combat operations in the Kursk region against Ukrainian forces. The Russian state media cited Gerasimov by praising the North Korean soldiers for their “high professionalism” and “heroism” on the battlefield.
According to the specialized media these statements contradict the previous words of Kremlin officials, including press secretary, Dmitri Peskov, who dismissed reports on the participation of North Korea by qualifying them as “misinformation.” Moscow had systematically denied that Pyongyang provided troops or weapons to support Russian military operations in Ukraine.
North Korea also confirmed for the first time on Monday that he has deployed troops in Russia to support his offensive against Ukraine, under the strategic association treaty signed with Moscow in June 2024. The North Korean state agency Kcna quoted the Central Military Commission of the Workers Party, saying that North Korea soldiers participated in the recovery of the Kursk region of the leader Kim Jong-un.
The note largely reproduces the propaganda narrative of the Kremlin, accusing Ukraine of having invaded Russian territory with the support of Western “imperialist” forces and describing North Korean troops as a key in the release of the area and the “annihilation of neo -Nazis forces.” The North Korean regime described Kursk’s operation as a victory “of justice against injustice” and a “new chapter in the history of militant friendship” between the two countries.
The revelation highlights the contradictory messages of the Kremlin, while the Russian state propaganda struggles to reconcile the past denials with the realities present, according to the specialized medium. For months, they have circulated in Western intelligence evaluations reports on weapons deliveries and possible north Korean troops, but this is the first official confirmation of both Moscow and Pyongyang about the presence of North Korean forces on the Russian-Ukrainian front.
