During a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un expressed a deep commitment to Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

“Kim Jong Un reaffirmed that the DPRK is ready to unconditionally support all the measures taken by the Russian leadership as regards the eradicating of the root cause of the Ukrainian crisis,” North Korean state media reported. 

Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim signed a pact agreeing to provide mutual military assistance. Following the implementation of the agreement, North Korean soldiers were deployed to Russia to fight against Ukrainian soldiers who invaded the Kursk region. 

State media in Pyongyang celebrated the North Korean soldiers’ role in aiding Russia’s victory in Kursk. “It is a source of pride for our state and a [great] dignity for our people to have such excellent soldiers,” KCNA reported. “The victorious conclusion of the operations for liberating the Kursk area is a victory of justice over injustice and, at the same time, a new chapter of history which demonstrated the highest strategic level of the firm militant friendship between the DPRK and Russia.”

During this weekend’s summit with Kim, Lavrov expressed the Russian appreciation for North Korea’s support in Ukraine. “The Russian side expressed its sincere gratitude for Pyongyang’s consistent support in principle of the Russian special military operation, and the participation of fighters from the Korean People’s Army in ousting Ukrainian nationalists and foreign mercenaries from the Kursk Region,” he said.

Russian state media also reported that the North Korean leader and top Russian diplomat discussed the US role in increasing tension on the Korean Peninsula. “The sides agreed that the rise in tensions in the subregion was caused by the United States and its allies increasing their military activity and conducting increasingly frequent military maneuvers involving nuclear weapons,” Lavrov explained.