North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the country has seen a sharp rise in youths seeking to join the military after Pyongyang sent thousands of troops to fight alongside Russian forces in the Kursk region.
Reports of North Korean troops joining Russia’s war in Ukraine began to surface in October 2024.
According to The Moscow Times, Kim made the statement at the 13th session of the Supreme People’s Assembly.
“After reports of heroic deeds by our units participating in the operation to liberate the Kursk region, popular heroism has swept across society. Among the youth, enthusiasm for military service has reached unprecedented heights,” Kim reportedly said on Monday.
He added that North Koreans have actively donated funds to support veterans of what he called “overseas operations.”
“Tens of thousands of soldiers, workers, and citizens have contributed large sums of money to help build a war memorial, erect a monument to fallen heroes, construct a new street, and support the families of those killed” since Aug. 22, Kim said.
Kim also claimed the country had recently obtained “secret weapons” and made advances in defense technology that would “significantly strengthen our military capabilities.”
On Sept. 3, following a military parade in Beijing, Kim held bilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin that lasted over two and a half hours.
Putin said North Korean troops participated in fighting in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, adding that it happened “at the initiative of Kim Jong Un and in accordance with the new treaty between the two countries.”
“I want to note that we will never forget the sacrifices made by your armed forces and the families of your servicemen,” Putin added, asking that his gratitude be conveyed to all the people of North Korea.
In turn, Kim Jong Un called the participation of his soldiers in combat “the brotherly duty of the DPRK,” referring to the country by its official name.
He also thanked Putin for “highly valuing the role” played by North Korean troops.
Kim said that he supplied troops before and is more than happy to do so again.
Seoul’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) estimated North Korean casualties in Russia to be in the thousands.
“The number of war dead was at least 600. But based on updated assessments, it now estimates the figure at around 2,000,” lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun told reporters after an NIS briefing.
South Korean and Western intelligence agencies estimated that Pyongyang sent over 10,000 soldiers to Russia in 2024 – primarily to Kursk Oblast – along with artillery shells, missiles and long-range rocket systems.
Lee said the NIS believed that Pyongyang planned to deploy another 6,000 soldiers and engineers to Russia, and that 1,000 had already arrived.
Russia and North Korea signed a military pact last year that includes a mutual defense clause during a rare visit by Putin to North Korea.