North Korea has confirmed for the first time that it has troops fighting alongside the Russians in Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials believe the hermetic kingdom has deployed as many as 14,000 troops, which includes 3,000 to replace previous losses, Sky News reported.
North Korea has also reportedly supplied millions of shells to Russia in a bid to tip the balance of the conflict in the latter’s favour, a Reuters investigation found.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has also provided ballistic missiles, 120 long-range artillery systems and 120 multiple-launch rocket systems, Ukraine’s military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said.
That would represent the most significant direct military package handed to the Russians by any country since the war broke out.
State media in North Korea said fighters from the East Asian country had made an ‘important contribution’ to the war by driving Ukrainians out of Russian territory – assumed to be a reference to Kursk.
North Korean ‘supreme leader’ Kim Jong Un was quoted saying: ‘They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honour of the motherland.’
However, Ukrainian military leaders challenged the messaging emanating from North Korea and said that their soldiers retain a presence in the city.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un exchange documents during a signing ceremony of the new partnership in Pyongyang, North Korea, on June 19, 2024
Ukrainian officials believe the hermetic kingdom has deployed as many as 14,000 troops to the frontlines to fight against them Pictured: North Korean soldiers march during a mass military parade in Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Square to celebrate 100 years since the birth of North Korean founder, Kim Il Sung on April 15, 2012
Macabre image reportedly show a row of North Korean soldiers killed in the Russian city of Kursk
Valery Gerasimov, the Russian chief of general staff, told Russian president Vladimir Putin: ‘I want to point out the participation of servicemen from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in the liberation of the Kursk Region’s border areas, who, in accordance with the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between our countries, provided significant assistance in defeating the invading group of the Ukrainian armed forces.
‘Soldiers and officers of the Korean People’s Army, carrying out combat missions shoulder to shoulder with Russian servicemen, displayed high professionalism, fortitude, courage and heroism in repulsing the Ukrainian invasion.’
On Friday Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky claimed a North Korean missile was used to destroy part of Kyiv in a devastating overnight attack that left 12 dead and dozens injured also contained American components.
Russia attacked Kyiv with an hours long barrage of missiles and drones on Wednesday night in its deadliest assault on the Ukrainian capital since last July, just as peace efforts are coming to a head.
After Zelensky initially revealed the attack had been carried out with a North Korean missile, he took to Telegram today to accuse American companies of supplying components for the offensive weapon.
It comes after US president Donald Trump said he was ‘not happy’ that Vladimir Putin launched a deadly barrage of missile strikes on Kyiv after talks to reach a peace deal failed.
‘I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing,’ he wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
Trump urged his Russian counterpart: ‘Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!’
The first North Korean prisoner of war has been captured by the Ukrainian armed forces, confirmed South Korea’s National Intelligence Service on 27 December 2024
Ukrainian servicemen fire a D-30 howitzer towards Russian troops at a position in a front line, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine January 11, 2025
A North Korean soldier held after being captured by the Ukrainian army on January 11
Ukrainian troops recovered diaries and fake passports on slain North Korean troops
President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky at their contentious Oval Office meeting in February
Posting on the platform as he was leaving Rome, where he had been attending Pope Francis’ funeral, Donald Trump also questioned whether Putin had been ‘tapping me along’.
The US President said the Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities ‘makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through “Banking” or “Secondary Sanctions?”.’
Last month North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed his unwavering support for Russia’s war in Ukraine after he vowed to continue backing Russia amid its ongoing deadly invasion.
Kim met with Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s Security Council secretary, in Pyongyang, where they discussed various issues, including Russia’s war in Ukraine, Moscow’s dialogues with the Trump administration and the security situation on the Korean Peninsula, according to North Korean and Russian state media.
They reaffirmed the willingness of the two countries’ leaders to ‘unconditionally’ uphold a major mutual defense treaty reached at a summit last year in Pyongyang, which pledges mutual assistance if either country faces aggression.
Back in December Kyiv’s forces reportedly captured the first North Korean prisoner of war fighting for Vladimir Putin in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
A photograph allegedly showed the first fighter sent by Kim Jong Un to bolster Putin’s war effort who is believed to have been held in Russia’s Kursk region by Ukrainian forces.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service confirmed a POW had been taken by Ukraine soon after the picture emerged.
In a brief statement, they said: ‘Through real-time information sharing with a friendly nation’s [Ukraine’s] intelligence organisation, [we] confirmed the capture of a wounded North Korean soldier and plans to thoroughly examine the subsequent development.’
The South Korean spy agency issued a second statement reporting that the POW later died from his wounds.
