Russia’s Vladimir Putin has thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the courage of his soldiers who have been fighting in Ukraine on the Russian side.
Kim, in response, said he was willing to do “everything I can to assist” Russia.
The two leaders met on Wednesday in Beijing as China held one of its largest ever military parades, which marked 80 years since the end of the Second World War in Asia.
Putin, who launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, said bilateral relations between Russia and North Korea are friendly and that Pyongyang’s military helped to liberate the Kursk region.
“Your soldiers fought courageously and heroically,” Putin told Kim during Wednesday’s talks.
“I would like to note that we will never forget the sacrifices that your armed forces and the families of your servicemen have suffered.”
Kim expressed his gratitude for the Russian leader’s acknowledgement of North Korea’s troops and said bilateral relations between the two countries had been “advancing across all areas” – referencing Pyongyang’s involvement in the “joint struggle” with Russia in Ukraine.
“If there is any way we can assist Russia, we will certainly do it as a fraternal duty.”
According to South Korea, the North has sent some 15,000 troops to aid Russia in its invasion, along with missiles and long-range weapons. In return, it is believed North Korea received food, money and technical help.
These soldiers have been involved in Moscow’s efforts to recapture parts of western Kursk – where Ukrainians are defending a small area of territory captured during a surprise incursion in August – and are thought to have sustained heavy losses.
Western officials said in January that at least 1,000 had died in just three months. Two months later, Seoul lawmakers said they believed there were about 4,700 North Korean casualties, including 600 deaths, out of a total deployment of 15,000.
The North Korean troops, none of whom will have any previous combat experience, are believed to have spent their first weeks in Russia in training and then in support roles.
It is the third meeting in two years and at a time when Moscow and Pyongyang are deepening their co-operation.
Last June, Putin and Kim signed a deal pledging that Russia and North Korea will help each other in the event of “aggression” against either country.
At the time, Kim hailed the treaty as the “strongest ever”. He reaffirmed this support a few weeks ago when he offered Moscow his “unconditional support” on the war in Ukraine.
Pyongyang first publicly acknowledged sending troops to Russia in April, months after Ukraine and the West revealed the large-scale troop movement from North Korea to the Russian-Ukrainian frontline.
Apart from soldiers, North Korea also promised to send thousands of workers to help rebuild Russia’s war-torn Kursk region, Moscow’s security chief said in June.
Last week during a special ceremony, the North Korean leader met families of soldiers killed fighting for Russia against Ukraine.
During the event, Kim said he was filled with “sorrow” at failing to bring the soldiers back alive, pledging to build a monument in their honour and to look after their children.
“I thought a lot about other martyrs’ families who were not present [at the previous ceremony]… So, I had this meeting arranged as I wanted to meet and console the bereaved families of all the heroes and relieve them of their sorrow and anguish even a little,” state news agency KCNA reported Kim as saying.
