Russian President Vladimir Putin has hailed North Korean troops fighting in Ukraine as “heroic” in a letter to Kim Jong Un, North Korean state media reported on Friday.
The message, marking the anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese rule, recalled Soviet and Korean forces fighting together during World War II. “The bonds of militant friendship, goodwill and mutual aid… remain solid and reliable even today,” Putin said, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
He cited North Korea’s role in “liberating the territory of Kursk Region from the Ukrainian occupationists” as proof of that enduring alliance. Putin also pledged continued joint efforts to defend both nations’ sovereignty and promote a “just and multi-polarised world order.”
KCNA published Kim’s reply, in which he described DPRK–Russia ties as “the stablest comradeship and a comprehensive strategic companionship.”
The letter coincided with a visit by Russian parliamentary speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, who thanked Kim for sending “excellent soldiers” to Ukraine. According to South Korean and Western intelligence, Pyongyang dispatched over 10,000 troops to Russia in 2024, along with weapons and ammunition. Seoul estimates 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed in the conflict.
Kim said the visit would further strengthen bilateral ties, noting he had spoken with Putin two days earlier to agree on expanded cooperation and closer leadership contact. The exchange came ahead of Friday’s Putin–Trump summit in Alaska, aimed at exploring ways to end the more than three-year war in Ukraine.
