New Details Emerge on North Korea’s Involvement in Kursk Fighting

On Saturday, Russia officially confirmed the participation of North Korean troops in the fighting to capture Ukraine’s Kursk region. In a report to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the full liberation of Kursk, Chief of the General Staff of Russia’s Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, publicly thanked servicemen of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) for their role in the operation.

Following the announcement, new details emerged about the nature and extent of North Korea’s deployment. Russian war correspondent Alexander Kots, writing for RT and posting to his Telegram channel, revealed that North Korean soldiers had a strict rule never to be captured alive or surrender voluntarily.

According to Kots, North Korean troops underwent training before initially being deployed to the third line of defense. From there, they progressed to the second line, to front-line fortifications, and eventually took part in offensive operations. Kots credited North Korean forces with playing a vital role in the liberation of the Korenevsky District and in breaking through to the town of Kurilovka, south of Sudzha.

Their presence reportedly enabled Russian forces to maintain pressure on other sectors without needing to redeploy troops, while offering Pyongyang valuable combat experience in modern warfare.

The deployment of North Korean forces was permitted under the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership signed between Moscow and Pyongyang last year, which includes a mutual defense clause.

As Russian forces continue their advance from Kursk into Ukraine’s Sumy region—where Gerasimov reported the capture of four additional settlements—it remains unclear whether North Korean troops will continue participating in the offensive.

The acknowledgment of North Korean involvement marks another milestone in the deepening relationship between Russia and North Korea, part of a broader trend over the past three years that has seen strengthened cooperation among Russia, China, Iran, and other nations increasingly isolated by Western sanctions and pressure.