Vladimir Putin has personally thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for deploying thousands of troops for his Ukraine war, says the Kremlin.
They were sent to help Putin’s army drive Ukrainian forces out of a swathe of the Kursk region of Russia which was seized in a surprise attack last summer.
"Our Korean friends acted based on a sense of solidarity, justice and genuine comradeship,” said the Kremlin statement.
“We highly appreciate this and are sincerely grateful personally to the Chairman of State Affairs Comrade Kim Jong Un, the entire leadership and people of the DPRK," it added, referring to North Korea by the initials of its formal name.
Putin hailed the "heroism, high level of special training and dedication of the (North) Korean fighters, who, shoulder to shoulder with Russian fighters, defended our Motherland as their own".
Some North Korean soldiers were captured by Ukrainian forces.
North Korea confirmed for the first time it has sent troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine, saying the deployment was meant to help Moscow regain its Kursk region.
US, South Korean and Ukraine intelligence officials have said North Korea dispatched about 10,000-12,000 troops to Russia last autumn in its first participation in a major armed conflict since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
But North Korea hadn't confirmed or denied its reported troop deployments to Russia until Monday.
The North Korean announcement came two days after Russia said its troops have fully reclaimed the Kursk region. Ukrainian officials denied the claim.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un decided to send combat troops to Russia under a mutual defence treaty signed by him and Russian President Vladimir Putin in June 2024, the North's Central Military Commission said.
The treaty, considered the two countries' biggest defence agreement since the end of the Cold War, requires both nations to use all available means to provide immediate military assistance if either is attacked.
The North Korean statement did not say how many troops North Korea eventually sent and how many of them had died.
But in March, South Korea's military said that around 4,000 North Korean soldiers had been killed or wounded in the Russia-Ukraine war fronts.
Ukrainian military and intelligence officials have assessed that the North Koreans gained crucial battlefield experience and have been key to Russia's strategy of overwhelming Ukraine by throwing large numbers of soldiers into the battle for Kursk.
Shortly after arriving in Rome on Friday, Trump said on social media that Ukraine and Russia should meet for "very high-level talks" on ending the war.
But less than 24 hours later, Trump said he doubted Putin's willingness to end the war.
