SEOUL, January 1. /TASS/. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has wished Happy New Year to the soldiers and officers of the Korean People's Army (KPA) participating in foreign operations, according to the Central Telegraphic Agency of Korea (KCNA).

"Pyongyang and Moscow are behind you. Thanks to your self-sacrifice and dedication, the military brotherhood, friendship and unbreakable allied relations between the DPRK and Russia are strengthening," Kim Jong Un said.

The North Korean leader called on the KPA soldiers to remain brave.

"For the fraternal Russian people, for the high spirit and dignity of the Koreans, for the unyielding honor of our state," he added.

"On behalf of our party and the state, on behalf of our people, officers and soldiers of the entire army, parents, wives and children, I extend New Year's greetings to all the commanders and soldiers of the troops of the foreign operation. Although now, at these moments, you are fighting far from your homeland, but you are always close to the heart of our party and people as proud sons of the motherland.

"I feel a strong longing for you, comrades, you are on full combat readiness at distant firing positions abroad by order of the motherland, even at these moments when the whole country is in a festive mood on the occasion of the New Year."

Kim Jong Un expressed hope for an early meeting with the KPA soldiers and officers and urged them to remember their safety.

On December 12, Kim Jong Un said that participation of the Korean People's Army in the liberation of the Kursk Region from Ukrainian formations emphasized the North Korea’s status on the world stage. The 528th Field Engineer Regiment returned to North Korea after fulfilling the combat order of the Workers' Party of Korea in the Kursk Region at the same time.

On December 29, Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the Russian General Staff, said that North Korean soldiers had provided great assistance to Russian troops during the demining of the Kursk Region. On November 14, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia was grateful to the North Korean field engineers for their selfless and heroic help. In the summer of 2024, Russia and North Korea signed a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement, which contains a clause on mutual assistance in the event of an armed attack on one of the parties.