Overview
- KCNA published Kim Jong-un’s Dec. 27 greeting to Vladimir Putin, calling DPRK–Russia ties a “precious common asset” and asserting the bond is unbreakable.
- The message followed Putin’s Dec. 18 letter, carried by KCNA, praising the “heroic” role of North Korean soldiers in Russia’s Kursk region.
- South Korean and Western intelligence assess that Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops to support Moscow; North Korea officially acknowledged deployments and combat deaths in April.
- Kim recently confirmed a 120‑day mine‑clearing mission in Russia’s Kursk region in August 2025, with at least nine North Korean engineers killed.
- Kim issued an order a day earlier to ramp up missile production and expand munitions factories, as reporting indicates North Korea supplies shells and missiles to Russia in exchange for financial aid, technology, and food and energy support.