North Korea’s Kim says he’ll ‘unconditionally support’ Russia’s war against Ukraine

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean chief Kim Jong Un informed a visiting prime Russian official that his nation will “unconditionally help” Russia’s battle in opposition to Ukraine, the North’s state media reported Thursday, the newest signal of increasing cooperation between the 2 nations.

In April, the 2 nations formally confirmed North Korean troops’ deployment to Russia for the primary time, saying that troopers of the 2 nations had been preventing alongside one another to repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk border area. On the time, Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked North Korea’s participation within the battle and promised to not neglect their sacrifices.

In a gathering with Russian Safety Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu in Pyongyang on Wednesday, Kim affirmed that North Korea will “unconditionally help the stand of Russia and its overseas insurance policies in all of the essential worldwide political points together with the Ukrainian concern,” the official Korean Central Information Company mentioned.

The 2 mentioned how one can solidify strategic partnership between North Korea and Russia and reached a consensus on the Ukraine concern and different unspecified worldwide conditions, KCNA mentioned. It did not elaborate.

Russia’s state Tass information company, citing the Russian Safety Council’s press service, reported that Shoigu and Kim additionally mentioned prospects for rebuilding the Kursk area and outlined steps to commemorate the contribution made by North Korean troopers.

Russia claimed in April 2025 that it had totally reclaimed the Kursk area, although Ukraine insists it nonetheless has troops current there. Ukraine’s prime military chief Oleksandr Syrskyi reiterated Saturday that Ukrainian forces had been nonetheless holding territory in Russia’s Kursk area.

Shoigu final visited North Korea in March for a gathering with Kim.

North Korea and Russia have not mentioned what number of North Korean troops are in Russia. However U.S., South Korean and Ukraine intelligence officers earlier mentioned North Korea dispatched 10,000-12,000 troops to Russia final fall in its first participation in a significant armed battle for the reason that 1950-53 Korean Struggle. South Korean authorities just lately mentioned North Korea despatched round 3,000 extra troops to Russia earlier this 12 months.

North Korea has been supplying an unlimited quantity of typical weapons to Russia as effectively.

South Korean, U.S. and their companions consider Russia has supplied financial and army help to North Korea in return. They fear Russia may additionally switch subtle applied sciences to assist North Korea improve its nuclear weapons program focusing on its rivals.