Kim Jong Un decorates troops who fought in Kursk and says his army is "the strongest" – photos
North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has conferred awards on soldiers and commanders from his army who fought for Russia in Kursk Oblast and has met with the families of those killed.
Source: KCNA, North Korea’s state news agency; Meduza, a Russian news outlet; Novaya Gazeta, a Russian socio-political newspaper
Details: KCNA published a report and photos from a ceremony in Pyongyang at which Kim Jong Un met with military leaders and the families of North Korean soldiers killed in the fighting in Russia’s Kursk Oblast.
Kim said the actions of the North Korean army in Kursk have "secured for it the title and fame of the strongest army in the world" and "led to victory".
Photographs of 101 soldiers were displayed on stage. There has been no official publication of the number of casualties North Korean forces suffered during the operation in Kursk Oblast.
Background:
- In April, both North Korea and Russia confirmed the involvement of North Korean troops in Russia’s war against Ukraine, with reports that DPRK soldiers had been deployed in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, part of which was then under Ukrainian control.
- Both countries said their cooperation was based on a treaty signed in June last year by Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, which included provisions on "mutual defence".
- When Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited North Korea in July this year, Kim told the Kremlin envoy that his country was prepared to "unconditionally support" all of Moscow’s actions, including its war against Ukraine.
- Kyrylo Budanov, Head of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, told Bloomberg that North Korea is supplying up to 40% of Russia’s ammunition for the war in Ukraine as cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow deepens.
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