‘Combat Brotherhood’: Kremlin Confirms North Korean Troops Fighting in Ukraine

Russian officials on Saturday confirmed that North Korean soldiers have been fighting alongside Russian forces against Ukraine - the first time Moscow has publicly acknowledged their involvement.

Reports of North Korean fighters in Ukraine had circulated since fall 2024, but Moscow previously dismissed them as “hype.”

During the meeting broadcast on the Kremlin’s website on April 26, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov told President Vladimir Putin that North Korean troops helped Russian forces “liberate” parts of the Kursk region and praised their “courage and heroism” in combat.

“Soldiers and officers of the Korean People’s Army, carrying out combat missions shoulder to shoulder with Russian servicemen, demonstrated high professionalism during the repulsion of the Ukrainian invasion and displayed perseverance, courage, and heroism in battle,” Gerasimov said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry later backed the statement, citing a strategic partnership with Pyongyang. Spokesperson Maria Zakharova called it a show of “combat brotherhood.”

South Korea’s spy agency had earlier estimated the DPRK had already sent about 14,000 troops along with 200 long-range artillery units and masses of ammunition to support Russia’s war effort. Out of those, reports claim at least 4000 have been killed or wounded.

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In exchange for its support, North Korea is likely receiving high-tech assistance from Russia - in areas such as nuclear submarine technology and missile re-entry systems.

Ukraine’s Kursk incursion

Russia said on Saturday it had fully regained control of its Kursk region on the border with Ukraine, after an unprecedented Ukrainian incursion aimed at bringing the war onto Russian territory and influencing eventual negotiations.

Ukraine’s army denied Russia’s claim to have driven Kyiv’s forces out of Kursk, saying “statements by the enemy leadership about the ‘defeat’ of the Ukrainian troops are nothing more than propaganda tricks”.