0
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced on January 11 that Ukrainian forces had captured two North Korean soldiers in Russia’s western Kursk region. / Captured from Zelenskiy's X account

North Korea has officially confirmed the deployment of its troops to Russia, stating that it "fully aligns with all provisions and the spirit" of the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between North Korea and Russia and represents "the most faithful expression of its implementation."

According to a report by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on April 28, the Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party of Korea made this announcement in a written statement sent to state media outlets, including Rodong Sinmun.

In the statement, the Central Military Commission declared that the "liberation operation of the Kursk region, aimed at repelling the Ukrainian authorities' reckless armed invasion of the Russian Federation, was successfully concluded," adding that North Korean military units participated in the operations "in accordance with the orders of the state leader."

The commission emphasized that "Comrade Kim Jong-un, based on the assessment that the current battlefield situation invoked Article 4 of the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Russian Federation, decided to dispatch our forces and notified the Russian side."

Article 4 of the North Korea-Russia treaty stipulates that if either party comes under armed attack from one or more countries and finds itself in a state of war, the other party shall immediately provide military and other assistance using all available means, in accordance with the UN Charter and the respective national laws.

North Korea also stressed that Kim Jong-un had referred to the troops dispatched to Russia as "representatives of the nation's honor." Furthermore, Kim announced that "a monument commemorating their battle achievements will soon be erected in our capital," and that "flowers symbolizing the people's eternal remembrance will be placed before the gravestones of the fallen soldiers," effectively acknowledging that North Korea suffered significant casualties during the deployment.

Previously, Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, during a video conference with President Vladimir Putin on April 26, stated that "North Korean soldiers and officers demonstrated high professionalism, resilience, courage, and heroic actions while performing combat missions alongside Russian forces in repelling Ukrainian attacks," thus becoming the first to officially acknowledge North Korean troop involvement.

Despite previous reports by South Korea’s National Intelligence Service in October last year confirming that North Korea had decided to send about 12,000 troops to Russia, Pyongyang had consistently denied the deployment. It was reported that in the early stages of deployment, about 4,000 North Korean soldiers suffered casualties due to their unfamiliarity with modern warfare. In January, two North Korean soldiers were captured by Ukrainian forces. According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, North Korea sent an additional 3,000 troops to the Kursk region between January and February this year.