Putin Thanks North Korea for Deploying Troops to Kursk

President Vladimir Putin met with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui at the Kremlin on July 19 and 20, 2026, to praise the deepening bilateral relations between the two nations. During the meetings, Putin expressed gratitude to the North Korean leadership and people for their support of the special military operation in Ukraine, specifically citing the deployment of soldiers from the Korean People's Army to the Kursk region.

North Korea has provided thousands of containers of munitions and approximately 15,000 troops to Russia. According to the National Intelligence Service of South Korea, roughly 2,000 of those troops have been killed. In exchange, North Korea has received financial aid, food, energy, and military technology under a 2024 comprehensive strategic partnership treaty.

Choe Son Hui, visiting at the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, reaffirmed that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un remains committed to the comprehensive development of relations and will continue to support Russia's sovereignty and security interests. The visit is widely viewed as preparatory work for a potential summit between Kim and Putin.

This diplomatic push coincides with North Korea strengthening ties with China, following a June visit by President Xi Jinping. Meanwhile, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko expressed concern over South Korea's proposal for a revamped defense industry partnership with NATO, which the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs defended as pragmatic diplomacy.