North Korea's Kim to continue support for Russia, state media says

SEOUL – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country will continue supporting Russia’s policies and discussed expanding military cooperation with Moscow, state media KCNA reported, as analysts said the partnership is likely to persist beyond the war in Ukraine.

A Russian delegation led by Defense Minister Andrei Belousov attended a ceremony marking the completion of a memorial honoring North Korean soldiers who were killed while fighting in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces launched an incursion in 2024, KCNA said on Monday.

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and continues to occupy roughly one-fifth of Ukrainian territory.

Belousov said he agreed with North Korean officials to place military cooperation on a stable, long-term foundation and to sign a cooperation plan covering the 2027–2031 period later this year, according to Russian news agencies on Sunday.

Analysts say the agreement signals deeper alignment between the two countries beyond the current conflict.

“The five-year cooperation plan points to preparations for the post-Ukraine war period,” said Lim Eul-chul, professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University. “This raises the possibility that their political, military, and economic alignment will continue even if the war ends, potentially evolving into an institutional alliance.”

HEAVY CASUALTIES IN KURSK

In a speech marking the memorial’s completion, Kim said North Korean troops fighting alongside Russian forces had “wiped out the aggressors,” claiming they thwarted what he described as “the United States’ and the West’s hegemonic ambitions and military adventurism,” according to KCNA.

“The North Korean government will continue to fully support Russia’s policies of defending its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security interests,” Kim said.

Russia and North Korea signed a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty” in 2024 during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Pyongyang. The agreement includes a mutual defense provision.

North Korea is estimated to have sent about 14,000 troops to support Russian forces in the Kursk region. South Korean, Ukrainian, and Western officials have said the troops suffered heavy casualties, with more than 6,000 reported killed in combat.

KCNA reported that Kim and Belousov also discussed global and regional security issues, along with ways to further expand military and political cooperation between the two countries.

In exchange for military support and ammunition, Pyongyang has reportedly received economic aid and assistance in military technology from Russia, according to South Korean intelligence assessments.

‘STARS OF THE MOTHERLAND’ CONCERT

Kim also met with Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of Russia’s parliament and a close ally of Putin, reaffirming both countries’ commitment to deepen ties under their comprehensive strategic partnership treaty, KCNA said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also sent a message marking the memorial’s completion, saying that “through joint efforts, Russia and North Korea will continue to strengthen their comprehensive strategic partnership,” according to KCNA.

A memorial concert titled “Stars of the Motherland” was held to honor fallen North Korean soldiers, the agency added.

Kim has increasingly elevated the North Korean troops who fought in Russia’s Kursk region as symbols of sacrifice and loyalty, highlighting their role through state ceremonies and memorial projects.

“The souls of the fallen will live forever with the great honor they defended,” Kim said in a handwritten message placed at the neoclassical-style memorial on Sunday, KCNA reported.

-Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Ed Davies, Lincoln Feast and Raju Gopalakrishnan / Reuters