NEW DELHI: North Korea has officially confirmed for the first time that it has dispatched troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine, stating the deployment was meant to assist Moscow in regaining control of the Kursk region.

According to a statement from North Korea’s Central Military Commission, carried by state media KCNA, leader Kim Jong Un ordered the deployment under a mutual defense treaty signed with Russian President Vladimir Putin in June 2024. The treaty obligates both nations to provide immediate military assistance if either is attacked.

Kim said the deployment aimed to “annihilate and wipe out the Ukrainian neo-Nazi occupiers and liberate the Kursk area in cooperation with the Russian armed forces.” He added, “They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honour of the motherland,” according to the statement.

North Korean state media described the end of the battle in Russia’s Kursk region as showing the “highest strategic level of the firm militant friendship” between North Korea and Russia.

“Under the order of the head of state, the sub-units of the armed forces of the Republic regarded the territory of Russia as the one of their country and proved the firm alliance between the two countries,” KCNA cited the Central Military Commission as saying.

Russia’s Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, confirmed Saturday that North Korean soldiers had fought in Kursk, praising their “high professionalism, fortitude, courage and heroism in battle,” according to a Kremlin readout.

While North Korea did not disclose the number of troops sent or casualties sustained, US, South Korean, and Ukrainian intelligence officials have estimated that North Korea initially deployed about 10,000 to 12,000 troops last fall. South Korea’s military reported in March that approximately 4,000 North Korean soldiers had been killed or wounded, with an additional 3,000 reinforcements sent earlier this year.

Despite being disciplined and well-trained, North Korean soldiers reportedly faced high casualties due to their lack of experience with drone and artillery warfare and unfamiliarity with the battlefield terrain.

While Moscow claimed last week that Ukrainian forces had been expelled from the last village in the Kursk region, Kyiv disputed the assertion.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his Sunday evening address that Ukrainian forces were still performing tasks in the Kursk and Belgorod regions and that the situation remained difficult in many areas.

The United States has expressed alarm over North Korea’s direct military involvement in Russia’s war effort. A US State Department spokesperson said, “North Korea’s military deployment to Russia and any support provided by the Russian Federation to North Korea in return must end.”

The spokesperson also said third-party countries like North Korea “bear responsibility” for the conflict.