Overview
- Kim Jong-un sent New Year greetings to Vladimir Putin, calling DPRK–Russia ties a “precious common asset” forged by “sharing blood, life and death.”
- Putin’s earlier Dec. 18 letter, published by KCNA, praised the “heroic” role of Korean People’s Army units in the Kursk region and hailed the friendship as invincible.
- North Korea officially confirmed in April that it deployed troops to support Russia’s war in Ukraine and acknowledged combat fatalities, while outside reports say thousands were sent.
- Kim recently disclosed a 120-day mine-clearing mission in Russia’s Kursk region that resulted in at least nine deaths among North Korean engineers.
- Kim’s message followed his directive to expand missile output and add munitions plants, as reporting points to Pyongyang supplying shells and rockets in exchange for Russian aid, technology, and supplies.