TOKYO, April 28. /TASS/. Kim Jong Un believes that North Korean forces’ participation in the operation to liberate Russia’s Kursk Region from Ukrainian troops was "a sacred mission" aimed at strengthening friendship with Moscow, the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea said in a statement.
"Kim Jong Un determined that the participation of our armed forces in the war was a sacred mission aimed at cementing the traditional friendship and solidarity between the two countries, guaranteeing the development and prosperity of both countries and protecting North Korea’s honor," the statement reads, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Kim decided that the situation required the enactment of Article 4 of the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between North Korea and Russia and ordered the forces of the Korean People’s Army "to defeat and eliminate Ukrainian neo-Nazi invaders and liberate certain areas of the Kursk Region in coordination with the Russian Armed Forces."
According to the KCNA, Kim hails North Korean troops that took part in the operation to liberate the Kursk Region as heroes who fought for justice. He announced that a memorial to the North Korean soldiers who participated in the operation would soon be established in Pyongyang.
On April 26, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Army General Valery Gerasimov reported to President Vladimir Putin that the operation to liberate the Kursk Region from the Ukrainian forces that had invaded the region in August 2024 was over. Gerasimov particularly highlighted the role of North Korean soldiers.
Article 4 of the Russia-North Korea Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership says that if one of the parties comes under armed attack by another country or group of countries, the other party will immediately provide it with military and other assistance.