North Korea officially confirmed for the first time that it had deployed troops to Russia, two days after Moscow’s top military leadership acknowledged the move.
State news agency KCNA reported that the ruling Workers’ Party Central Military Commission had sent a written statement to state media, including the Rodong Sinmun newspaper, affirming the deployment.
It said the decision was “fully in line with the provisions and spirit” of a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty signed between Pyongyang and Moscow, calling the dispatch “the most faithful practical expression” of the agreement’s implementation.
In the statement, the Central Military Commission said North Korean forces participated in operations in Russia’s Kursk region “under the order of the Supreme Commander” and declared that the campaign to repel Ukraine’s “adventurous armed invasion” had ended in victory.
The commission said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had determined that the situation triggered Article 4 of the treaty, which obligates both countries to provide military and other assistance if either comes under armed attack, in line with the UN Charter and their respective domestic laws. Kim ordered the deployment and notified Russia, it said.
North Korea’s statement follows Russia’s chief of staff, Valery Gerasimov, on Saturday hailing the “heroism” of the North Korean soldiers, who he said “provided significant assistance in defeating the group of Ukrainian armed forces”, while reporting to Putin that Kursk had been regained from Ukrainian forces
