Vladimir Putin thanks North Korea for sending soldiers to fight Ukraine, says ‘defended our Motherland…’

Vladimir Putin in an official statement on April 28 thanked North Korea troops for fighting against Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk, hailing their “heroism and dedication”, according to an AP report.

Russia on April 26 claimed it had retaken the Kursk region from Ukrainian forces last year, while Ukraine denied the claim, as per the report.

Intelligence officials from South Korea, the United States and Ukraine had claimed that North Korea dispatched 10,000-12,000 troops to Russia last autumn. This was neither confirmed nor denied by the regime until now.

What Did Vladimir Putin Say About North Korean Troops?

Vladimir Putin praised North Korean troops for fighting “shoulder to shoulder with Russian fighters” and thanked them for “defending our Motherland as their own”.

The Russian President's statement came after North Korea for the first time confirmed deployment of their troops on April 28. The participation is significant, as it marks the country's first major armed conflict role since the Korean War from 1950-53.

According to a state media report, which cited the country's Central Military Commission, North Korean decided to send its troops to Russia after Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin signed a defense treaty in June 2024.

The defence agreement in question is considered Russia and North Korea's “biggest” since the Cold War and entails both to “use all available means to provide immediate military assistance if either is attacked”.

Russia-Ukraine War: What Has Kim Jong Un Said?

The statement cited Kim as saying the deployment was meant to “annihilate and wipe out the Ukrainian neo-Nazi occupiers and liberate the Kursk area in cooperation with the Russian armed forces. They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honor of the motherland.”

Kim said that a monument will soon be erected in Pyongyang to mark North Korea's battle feats and that flowers will be laid before the tombstones of the fallen soldiers. Kim said the government must take steps to preferentially treat and take care of the families of the soldiers who took part in the war.

The North Korean statement didn’t say how many troops North Korea eventually sent and how many of them had died. But in March, South Korea's military said that around 4,000 North Korean soldiers had been killed or wounded in the Russia-Ukraine war fronts. the South Korean military also assessed at the time that North Korea sent about 3,000 additional troops to Russia earlier this year.

Concerns Over N. Korean Soldiers Lacking Combat Experience

North Korean soldiers are highly disciplined and well trained, but observers say they’ve become easy targets for drone and artillery attacks on Russian-Ukraine battlefields due to their lack of combat experience and unfamiliarity with the terrain. Still, Ukrainian military and intelligence officials have assessed that the North Koreans gained crucial battlefield experience and have been key to Russia’s strategy of overwhelming Ukraine by throwing large numbers of soldiers into the battle for Kursk.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry on Monday urged North Korea to withdraw its troops from Russia immediately, saying the North’s support of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine poses a grave provocation to international security. Spokesperson Koo Byoungsam also called the North’s troops’ deployment “an act against humanity” that has sacrificed young North Korean soldiers for their government.

In a Kremlin meeting Saturday, Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff for Russia’s armed forces, informed Putin of Russia's regaining of the Kursk region. Gerasimov also confirmed that North Korean soldiers fought alongside Russia to repel Ukrainian troops from the Kursk region and “demonstrated high professionalism, showed fortitude, courage and heroism in battle.”

Ukraine's General Staff countered that its defensive operation in certain areas in Kursk was continuing.

US Brokered Peace Deal Between Russia and Ukraine Hangs in Balance?

If confirmed, Russia's victory in Kursk would deprive Ukraine of key leverage in US-brokered efforts to negotiate an end to the more than 3-year-old war by exchanging its gains for some of Russia-occupied land in Ukraine.

On Saturday, President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met in Vatican City on the sidelines of funeral of Pope Francis to discuss a potential ceasefire deal. Shortly after arriving in Rome on Friday, Trump said on social media that Ukraine and Russia should meet for “very high-level talks” on ending the war. But less than 24 hours later, Trump said he doubted Putin’s willingness to end the war.

North Korea has been supplying a vast amount of conventional weapons to Russia as well. South Korea, the U.S. and their partners worry that Russia could reward North Korea by transferring high-tech weapons technologies that can sharply enhance its nuclear weapons program. North Korea is expected to receive economic and other assistance from Russia as well.

(With inputs from AP)