Pyongyang openly sided with the Kremlin: Kim Jong-un supported Russia’s war against Ukraine
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un openly expressed his support for Russia in the war against Ukraine, calling it a “sacred cause” and declaring unconditional solidarity with the Kremlin’s actions. About this reported North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
During the talks with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Pyongyang, Kim Jong Un said that he fully approves of all the actions of the Russian authorities aimed at “eliminating the root cause of the Ukrainian crisis.” He emphasized that he “deeply believes in the victory of the Russian people and the army in the fight for dignity and key national interests.”
According to Kim, Russia and the DPRK are at the level of a strategic alliance and have a complete coincidence of positions on international issues. At the meeting, as reported by KCNA, both sides expressed readiness to cooperate closely for the sake of “protecting key national interests.”
In response, Sergey Lavrov assessed the “effective communication” between the foreign policy departments of both countries and declared his intention to deepen the strategic and tactical coordination of actions between Russia and the DPRK.
North Korea’s support for Russia’s war is not limited to rhetoric. According to Ukrainian intelligence, the DPRK supplies up to 40% of the artillery ammunition used against Ukraine. In October 2024, Seoul announced the transfer of 1,500 North Korean special forces to the Russian Federation and the training of new contingents — up to 12,000 soldiers. Pyongyang then denied the accusations, calling them “baseless.”
We will remind, on April 28, 2025, North Korea officially recognized the fact of sending its soldiers to the Kursk region bordering Ukraine to “repulse the Ukrainian attack.” This happened in accordance with Article 4 of the Russian-North Korean comprehensive strategic partnership agreement signed in 2024.
Earlier, in January 2025, the Armed Forces reported the capture of two North Korean soldiers on the territory of Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi noted that North Korea actually joined the war, and the SBU was tasked with investigating the participation of North Korean citizens in hostilities. South Korea, in turn, declared its readiness to accept captured soldiers, emphasizing its right to recognize residents of the North as citizens of the Republic of Korea.
On April 26, the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Federation, Valery Gerasimov, for the first time publicly confirmed the participation of the North Korean military in hostilities and praised them for the “liberation” of territories in the Kursk region, which became the first official recognition by Moscow of the presence of North Korean troops in the war against Ukraine.
