IRIA News

6 minute read

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has praised his troops fighting abroad for forging what he described as an “invincible alliance” with Russia during his New Year message. Kim underscored the military partnership between the two countries and hinted at potential future overseas deployments.

North Korea’s State-run Korean Central News Agency said on Thursday that Kim sent a letter to North Korean personnel engaged in what it described as “overseas operations units,” congratulating them on their “heroic” defense of the nation’s honor while fighting in an “alien land.”

The remarks come as North Korea’s involvement in Russia’s war against Ukraine becomes more explicit, following months of intelligence assessments, battlefield reports, and eventual confirmation by Pyongyang that it had dispatched troops to support Russian forces.

According to South Korean and Western intelligence agencies, North Korea has sent thousands of troops to support Russia’s nearly four-year full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Those forces were deployed primarily in Russia’s western Kursk region, where they were tasked with helping repel a surprise Ukrainian incursion in 2024 that was ultimately unsuccessful.

Pyongyang later confirmed the deployment, saying in April that North Korean forces had been sent under the terms of a mutual defense treaty signed by the two countries in 2024. The Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers’ Party said the deployment was intended to support Russian forces in restoring control in the region.

In addition to combat troops, North Korea has said that combat engineers were dispatched to clear mines in the Kursk area, highlighting the breadth of its military involvement beyond frontline fighting.

South Korean estimates put the cost of the deployment at least 600 North Korean soldiers killed and thousands more wounded, figures that could not be independently verified. On-the-ground accounts and intelligence briefings have described the heavy toll faced by North Korean units operating in unfamiliar terrain and under intense combat conditions.

Kim’s Message to Troops Fighting Abroad

In his New Year message, Kim struck a strongly nationalist and emotive tone, addressing the deployed troops directly and framing their role as central to both national pride and international solidarity.

“As the whole country is enveloped in a festive atmosphere of greeting the new year, I all the more miss you, who are fighting bravely on the battlefields in the alien land even at this moment,” Kim said, according to KCNA.

He praised their “heroic” actions and urged them to “be brave,” while assuring them that they were not alone. “Behind you are Pyongyang and Moscow,” he said, explicitly linking North Korea’s capital with Russia’s seat of power.

Kim also lauded the soldiers for strengthening what he repeatedly described as the “invincible alliance” with Russia, calling on them to fight “for the fraternal Russian people.” Analysts say such language reflects a deliberate effort to normalize overseas combat deployments as part of North Korea’s official defense policy.

The message included a forward-looking note, with Kim hinting that North Korean troops would continue to operate beyond the country’s borders. He spoke of the “remarkable feats you will perform on the overseas battlefields,” suggesting that the current deployment could be a precedent rather than an exception.

Weapons Supplies and Strategic Exchange

North Korea’s support for Russia has not been limited to manpower. Intelligence agencies and analysts say Pyongyang has also supplied Moscow with large quantities of artillery shells, missiles, and long-range rocket systems, helping to sustain Russia’s military campaign.

In return, analysts believe North Korea is receiving a mix of financial assistance, military technology, and critical supplies, including food and energy. This exchange is widely seen as providing an economic lifeline to Kim’s regime at a time when international sanctions and chronic shortages have strained the country’s economy.

Lavish New Year Celebrations in Pyongyang

Kim marked the start of the new year with an elaborate celebration in Pyongyang, attending a large-scale performance and speech at the May Day Stadium, according to KCNA.

The event featured fireworks, patriotic songs, dances, and a taekwondo demonstration, underscoring the regime’s emphasis on unity and strength.

Images released by state media showed Kim accompanied by his wife, Ri Sol Ju, and his daughter Ju Ae, whom some analysts view as a likely successor. KCNA photographs depicted Ju Ae sitting next to her father, holding hands with him, and hugging children during the celebrations.

Separate images showed crowds gathered at Kim Il Sung Square for a flag-raising ceremony to welcome the new year, with fireworks lighting up the sky over the capital on January 1, 2026.

Stark Realities on the Battlefield

While North Korean state media has highlighted heroism and sacrifice, reports from intelligence agencies and captured soldiers have painted a far grimmer picture of conditions faced by North Korean troops in Ukraine.

South Korea’s intelligence service has alleged that North Korean soldiers have been instructed to kill themselves rather than allow capture. Similar claims have emerged from accounts provided by two wounded North Korean soldiers taken prisoner by Ukrainian forces.

In December, a letter seen by AFP from the two prisoners said they hoped to start a “new life” in South Korea. The men, who were captured in January 2025 after sustaining injuries on the battlefield, thanked those working on their behalf for encouragement.

“We firmly believe that we are never alone and we think of those in South Korea as our own parents and siblings and have decided to go into their embrace,” they wrote, indicating a desire to defect.

Unconditional Support for Moscow

Kim’s New Year’s message builds on a series of statements in which he has reaffirmed unwavering backing for Russia. In June, during talks in Pyongyang with Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, Kim reiterated what KCNA described as his “unconditional support” for Russia’s war against Ukraine.

He pledged support for Russia’s positions “in all the crucial international political issues, including the Ukrainian issue,” further cementing the alignment between the two governments.

As North Korea continues to deepen its military cooperation with Russia, analysts say the partnership is reshaping Pyongyang’s role on the global stage, moving it from relative isolation toward a more direct and controversial presence on distant battlefields.