North Korean chief Kim Jong Un says troops despatched to assist Russia ‘annihilate’ Ukrainian forces beneath navy pact with Moscow.
North Korea has confirmed for the primary time that it sent troops to Russia to help Moscow’s struggle in opposition to Ukraine, and that its forces had contributed to taking again Russian territory held by Ukraine’s navy within the Kursk area.
In a press release supplied to North Korea’s official Korean Central Information Company (KCNA) on Monday, the Central Navy Fee of the ruling Employees’ Celebration stated that the nation’s chief, Kim Jong Un, had despatched troops into fight alongside Russian forces as a part of a mutual defence treaty between Moscow and Pyongyang.
The KCNA quoted Kim as saying that troopers had been deployed to “annihilate and wipe out the Ukrainian neo-Nazi occupiers and liberate the Kursk space in cooperation with the Russian armed forces”.
“They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honour of the motherland,” KCNA quoted Kim as saying.
North Korea “regards it as an honour to have an alliance with such a robust state because the Russian Federation”, KCNA stated.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty in June final yr, committing the 2 international locations to come back to one another’s help, militarily, within the occasion of struggle.
In response to South Korea’s official Yonhap Information Company, Kim additionally stated {that a} monument could be constructed quickly within the capital, Pyongyang, to honour those that had fought in opposition to Ukraine.
“Flowers praying for immortality will likely be positioned earlier than the tombstones of the fallen troopers, successfully acknowledging troops killed in fight,” Yonhap reviews, noting that North Korea had to this point remained silent in regards to the 1000’s of troopers it had despatched to Russia in October.
Ukrainian officers stated earlier this yr that some 14,000 North Koreans had been deployed in opposition to its forces, together with 3,000 reinforcements who had been despatched to interchange the North Koreans’ early battlefield losses.
Missing armoured automobiles and unfamiliar with drone warfare, the North Koreans had taken heavy casualties early on in preventing however tailored shortly, in line with reviews, and later contributed to reclaiming Russia’s Kursk area from occupying Ukrainian forces.
Estimates of the casualty fee amongst North Korean forces preventing for Russia have different broadly.
South Korea’s Nationwide Intelligence Service (NIS) stated in January that about 300 North Korean troopers had been killed in fight and one other 2,700 had been injured.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy put the variety of killed or wounded North Koreans at 4,000, whereas the US estimated a decrease determine of about 1,200 casualties.
North Korea’s assertion follows Russia’s chief of workers, Valery Gerasimov, on Saturday hailing the “heroism” of the North Korean troopers, who he stated “supplied important help in defeating the group of Ukrainian armed forces”, whereas reporting to Putin that Kursk had been regained from Ukrainian forces.
Ukraine’s Normal Employees shortly countered, saying that its defensive operation in sure areas in Kursk was persevering with.
The US State Division stated in a press release on Sunday night that North Korea and different “third international locations” had “perpetuated” Russia’s struggle on Ukraine and that it should finish, as ought to Moscow’s help for Pyongyang.
