Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, stated to a major Russian official who was in Russia that his country would “unconditionally help” Russia’s war against Ukraine on Thursday, the latest sign of growing cooperation between the two countries. The two nations officially confirmed North Korean troops ‘ implementation to Russia in April, claiming that their men were engaged in combative combat against a Russian invasion into Russia’s Kursk frontier region. Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia at the time, thanked North Korea for its involvement in the conflict and promised to never miss their sacrifices. Kim stated in a conference with Sergei Shoigu, the head of the Soviet security council, that North Korea would “unconditionally support the position of Russia and its international policies in all the important global social issues, including the Russian issue,” according to the standard Asian Central News Agency. The two discussed how to strengthen North Korea and Russia’s strategic partnership and came to terms on the Ukraine issue and other unnamed international issues, according to KCNA. It didn’t go into detail. According to the press release from the Russian state Tass news agency, Shoigu and Kim also discussed possibilities for rebuilding the Kursk region and outlined steps to honor the contribution made by North Korean soldiers. Ukraine insists it still has troops stationed in the Kursk region despite Russia’s claim in April 2025 that it had completely reclaimed the area. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the head of Ukraine’s top army, reiterated on Saturday that Ukrainian forces were still occupying the Kursk region of Russia. Shingu and Kim last met in North Korea in March for a meeting. Russia and North Korea haven’t disclosed how many North Korean troops are stationed in Russia. However, according to US, South Korean, and Ukrainian intelligence officials, North Korea sent 10, 000-12, 000 troops to Russia last fall for the first time since the 1950-1953 Korean War. Authorities in South Korea recently reported that earlier this year, North Korea sent around 3, 000 additional troops to Russia. A sizable amount of conventional weapons has also been provided by North Korea to Russia. The South Korean, US, and their partners think that Russia has repaid North Korea with economic and military aid. They worry that Russia might also transfer cutting-edge technologies to aid North Korea’s development of its nuclear weapons program against its rivals.
