TYRANT Kim Jong-un has confirmed for the first time that North Korean troops were sent to fight alongside the Russians against Ukraine.
Pyongyang's state TV and Kim's propaganda machine KCNAreported that North Korean soldiers made an “important contribution” to help the Russians flush out Kyiv's troops from Kursk.
It said Kim deployed “sub-units of our armed forces” to Russia as part of a treaty with Moscow.
The troops “participated in the operations for liberating the Kursk areas,” the report added.
North Korea “regards it as an honor to have an alliance with such a powerful state as the Russian Federation,” KCNA said.
It added: “Under the order of the head of state, the sub-units of the armed forces of the Republic regarded the territory of Russia as one of their country and proved the firm alliance between the two countries.”
It comes just a day after Russia claimed it had taken Kursk back from Ukraine after flushing out all of Kyiv's troops from the region.
It was also the first time Russia acknowledged North Korean troops were on the front lines and credited their role in helping Moscow regain Kursk.
Valery Gerasimov, the Russian chief of general staff, told Vladimir Putin: “I want to point out the participation of servicemen from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the liberation of the Kursk Region's border areas, who, in accordance with the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between our countries, provided significant assistance in defeating the invading group of the Ukrainian armed forces.
“Soldiers and officers of the Korean People's Army, carrying out combat missions shoulder to shoulder with Russian servicemen, displayed high professionalism, fortitude, courage and heroism in repulsing the Ukrainian invasion.”
North Korea sent an estimated total of 14,000 troops, including 3,000 reinforcements to replace its losses, Ukrainian officials have said.
Pyongyang also dispatched ballistic missiles, long-range artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems.
Lacking armoured vehicles and drone warfare experience, they took heavy casualties but adapted quickly.
State media quotes Kim Jong Un as saying: “They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honour of the motherland.”
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