Russian FM expresses gratitude to N. Korean soldiers

(MENAFN) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has expressed gratitude to North Korean soldiers for their participation in the effort to retake Russia’s Kursk Region from Ukrainian forces, calling their role “heroic.”

Last August, Ukrainian troops had briefly captured areas along the border in Kursk Region. However, Russian forces gradually reclaimed the territory, with full control reestablished by April. Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that Ukraine suffered more than 76,000 casualties during the failed offensive.

During a meeting on Saturday with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui at the Wonsan Kalma resort, Lavrov stated, “the heroic soldiers of the Korean People’s Army together with the Russian servicemen brought closer the liberation of Kursk Region with the cost of their blood and even their lives.”

Later, in a press conference with Russian media, Lavrov reiterated Moscow’s appreciation, crediting Pyongyang’s troops with helping drive out “the Ukrainian Neo-Nazis and foreign mercenaries.”

He also announced plans to construct a monument in Russia to honor the North Korean troops who fought in the region, stating that the idea has “full support” from Pyongyang.

When asked whether North Korean forces might be deployed elsewhere in the conflict, Lavrov explained that the troops were sent to Kursk Region following a proposal from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in line with a defense agreement signed between Moscow and Pyongyang in June 2024.

“We had no reason to refuse this sincere manifestation of solidarity, and we proceed from the fact that North Korea itself determines the forms in which it implements our agreement on strategic partnership,” Lavrov said.

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