Overview

• North Korea publicly acknowledged for the first time that it sent troops to fight alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, citing a mutual defense treaty with Moscow signed in June 2024.
• Kim Jong Un praised the North Korean soldiers as heroes and announced plans to erect a monument in Pyongyang to honor those killed in combat.
• Russia claims its forces, with North Korean support, have fully recaptured the Kursk region, though Ukraine disputes this and reports ongoing defensive operations in parts of the area.
• South Korea estimates approximately 4,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded, and intelligence reports suggest North Korea deployed 10,000–12,000 troops last fall.
• The U.S., South Korea, and other nations condemned the deployment as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions and demanded its immediate cessation.