Overview
- State media said Kim called DPRK–Russia ties a "precious common asset" and described 2025 as a year that "wrote a great biography of the alliance."
- The message arrived a day after Kim ordered officials to step up missile production, following years of increased testing cited by analysts as aimed at boosting precision and potential exports to Russia.
- Pyongyang has officially acknowledged troop deployments to support Russia and combat fatalities, including at least nine deaths during a 120-day mine-clearing mission in Russia’s Kursk region in August.
- South Korean and Western intelligence agencies assess that North Korea has sent thousands of personnel to assist Moscow in the war in Ukraine.
- Analysts report that Pyongyang has supplied artillery shells, missiles and long-range rocket systems, while Russia provides financial aid, military technology, and food and energy supplies.