Overview
- KCNA published Kim Jong-un’s Dec. 27 greeting calling ties with Moscow a “precious common asset” and describing the relationship as forged in shared sacrifice.
- A day earlier, Kim directed officials to step up missile manufacturing and build additional munitions factories, signaling continued military-industrial expansion.
- North Korea confirmed in 2025 that it deployed troops to support Russia’s war in Ukraine and acknowledged combat deaths during those operations.
- Kim previously said an engineering unit sent to Russia’s Kursk region in August 2025 for a 120-day mine-clearing mission suffered at least nine fatalities.
- Putin’s Dec. 18 letter, also carried by KCNA, praised the role of KPA troops in Russia’s west as the two sides deepen cooperation that includes reported DPRK arms supplies and Russian financial, technological, and energy or food support.