Russia, More Than Two Years Into North Korean Troop Deployment, Again Expresses Thanks and Stresses “Strengthening Friendship”

[Financial News] Russia, which has been deploying North Korean troops to the Ukrainian front for more than two years, has once again publicly expressed gratitude for the troop deployment.
According to Russia’s state news agency TASS, Russian Emergency Situations Minister Alexander Kurenkov met with North Korean Premier of the Cabinet Park Tae-sung in Pyongyang on the 13th and said, “I would like to express my gratitude for the support North Korean soldiers provided to Russia in the process of liberating parts of Kursk Region.” The same day, he laid flowers at the Liberation Tower, a monument commemorating Soviet soldiers, and at the Memorial Hall of Combat Achievements in Overseas Military Operations, which honors North Korean troops dispatched to Russia. In the memorial hall’s guestbook, Kurenkov wrote, “On behalf of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, I bow my head in deep respect to the heroes of the Korean People’s Army and will honor them forever,” adding, “I am grateful for the support rooted in courage and brotherhood, and hope that the friendship between Russia and North Korea will grow even stronger.” He also toured an exhibition honoring the bravery of North Korean service members who took part in operations to retake Kursk Region and clear mines.
Kurenkov had arrived in Pyongyang on the 11th and signed a document with North Korea setting out plans to expand cooperation on disaster response and a three-year cooperation plan.
Russia, which has been invading Ukraine since February 2022, claimed it had been invaded when Ukrainian forces crossed the Russian border and entered Kursk Region in August 2024. North Korea, which had signed the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Russia about two months earlier, sent troops under the pretext of defending Russian territory.
Russia expanded military and economic cooperation with North Korea after the troop deployment. On the 8th of last month, the first road bridge linking North Korea and Russia opened near the Tumen River. In a speech on the 28th of last month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed, “There are currently more than 8,000 North Korean troops on Russian territory,” adding, “Preparations are underway to deploy an additional 10,000.”
Russia has periodically thanked North Korea in connection with the troop deployment. In August last year, then Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin visited North Korea and stressed, “Your servicemen came to save Kursk. They sacrificed themselves for Kursk’s liberation.” Russian President Vladimir Putin met with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, who visited Moscow last July. A Kremlin spokesperson said Putin had “once again expressed his gratitude to the North Korean leadership for helping carry out the special military operation (the invasion of Ukraine)” at the meeting. Putin also said, “I will never forget the service of the North Korean soldiers who fell,” adding, “We will honor North Korean heroes together, just as we honor our own people.”
[email protected] Park Jong-won Reporter