North Korea confirmed for the first time ever that it has deployed its troops to aid Russia in its conflict against Ukraine, according to KCNA.

North Korea's Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un decided to deploy troops to Russia under a mutual defense treaty he signed with Russian President Vladimir Putin last year, the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers' Party said in a statement carried by the state-controlled media outlet. "Thanks to the precious victory won by the armies of the DPRK and Russia while shedding blood in the same trench shoulder to shoulder, the occupation of the Kursk area by the Ukrainian army for nearly nine months came to an end," the commission said.

According to Seoul's estimates in February, Pyongyang sent an additional 1,000 troops to Russia in the first two months of 2025, bringing the total number of its soldiers there up to roughly 12,000.