It said the decision to join the war was in line with the two countries’ mutual defense treaty sealed last year. Kim ordered the troops to “annihilate and wipe out the Ukrainian neo-Nazi occupiers,” calling it a “sacred mission” to further bolster their ties, according to KCNA.
It follows Russia’s claim that it has completed its efforts to remove Ukrainian forces from the Kursk Region, indicating that Ukraine may have lost an important bargaining chip with Moscow after seven months of holding Russian territory.Moscow’s claim could not be independently verified. However, Ukraine’s military denied it had been fully expelled from the Russian region, telling Bloomberg News that its forces held their positions in the area and “continue to hold off attacks in the Kursk direction.”
US President Donald Trump, who has dialed up pressure on Kyiv to reach a peace accord that critics fear may favor Russia, said Russia and Ukraine were “very close” to an agreement. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he hopes for a “reliable and lasting peace” after meeting Trump in Rome on Saturday before the funeral of Pope Francis.
If North Korea’s claim of a successful mission is verified, it could be a shot in the arm of Kim’s military ambitions, offering key battleground exposure to its troops. Pyongyang’s regime controls one of the world’s biggest military made up of about 1.3 million active personnel. While Kim’s regime is keen to showcase its defense advancement with its missile launches, Should be South Korea’s spy agency has said North Korea’s soldiers lack an understanding of modern warfare.
While Pyongyang’s official confirmation took months, there was evidence of its troops participating in the Ukraine war. In January, Ukrainian military captured two North Korean soldiers and Seoul estimated that some 300 of Pyongyang’s troops died while supporting Russia’s war. South Korean and Ukraine intelligence officials have said North Korea dispatched at least 10,000 to Russia last fall.
The country’s armed forces “fully demonstrated their high fighting spirit and military temperament, KCNA added.
The South Korea government urged the immediate withdrawal of North Korean troops from Russia and vowed to respond resolutely together with the international community if the current military collusion between North Korea and Russia continues, Unification Ministry spokesman Koo Byoung-sam said at a briefing. The North Korean military’s participation in the Ukrainian war is a clear illegal act that violates UN resolutions and the acknowledgment of it is also an admission of criminal activity, Koo added.
On Friday, Kim, accompanied by his young daughter Ju Ae, attended a launch ceremony for a new 5,000-ton destroyer, which KCNA said was equipped with powerful cutting-edge strike weapon systems that mark a breakthrough in the country’s efforts to modernize its naval forces.
Ukraine’s allies including the US and South Korea had warned Pyongyang’s involvement in the two-year long battle risks exacerbating what is already Europe’s largest conflict since World War II. They believed the deepening cooperation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim could also impact the security balance in the Indo-Pacific region, where there’s mounting rivalry between China and the US.
Kim has been a key ally of Putin, providing rare reinforcements to prop up his war, which also stoked concerns about Moscow’s potential aid to boost Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile arsenal.
