Vladimir Putin ‘deeply grateful’ to North Korea for sending troops to fight Ukraine in Kursk
South Korean defence ministry, meanwhile, said that the deployment of Pyongyang's troops to Russia violates UN security resolutions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin "appreciated" and thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for sending his troops to help Moscow fight Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region.
The Kremlin, in a statement on Monday, cited Putin as hailing the heroism and dedication of the North Korean troops for being "shoulder to shoulder with Russian fighters" to defend their Motherland as "their own".
"The Korean friends acted, guided by the sentiments of solidarity, justice and real camaraderie," Putin said. He further added that Russia appreciates the help a lot and is "deeply grateful to comrade Kim Jong Un personally...and the North Korean people".
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Earlier on Saturday, Moscow said that its troops had fully reclaimed the Kursk region that Ukrainian forces seized during a surprise incursion last year. However, Ukrainian officials denied the claim.
North Korea confirms troop deployment
Putin's statements come just hours after North Korea confirmed for the first time that it had deployed its forces to Russia. State news agency KCNA had reported that Pyongyang's soldiers helped Russia reclaim the territory from under Kyiv's control, an AFP report said.
The North's Central Military Commission reportedly said, “The subunits of our armed forces participated in the operations for liberating the Kursk areas according to the order of the head of state of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.”
The North Korean leader's decision, NCMC said, aligned with a mutual defence treaty. "Those who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honour of the motherland," Kim said, KCNA reported.
He added that a monument to the "battle feats" would soon be built in the capital, while referring to the "tombstones of fallen soldiers". With this, he confirmed that North Korean fighters had been killed in the fight.
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Kim pressed that North Korea must "take important national measures to specially honour and care for the families of war veterans".
Meanwhile, the US, South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence officials have long reported that North Korea deployed 10,000 to 12,000 troops to Russia last year as part of its first participation in a major armed conflict. But until Monday, North Korea had not confirmed or denied the reports of its forces' deployment to Moscow.
South Korea's Ministry of Defence on Monday said that the deployment of Pyongyang's troops to Russia violates UN Security resolutions. Its spokesperson said that "by officially acknowledging it, (the North) has admitted to its own criminal acts".
The Unification Ministry of South Korea, on the other hand, urged the North to withdraw its fighters from Russia immediately and said that Pyongyang's support of Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine posed a grave provocation to international security.
Koo Byoungsam, the ministry's spokesperson, called the deployment of North Korean fighters "an act against humanity" that has sacrificed Pyongyang's young soldiers for their government.
