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North Korea's Kim decided troop deployment for Russia in August 2024

Published: 31 Aug. 2025, 12:59

This image captured on Aug. 30 from the music video of the song titled ″Remember,″ aired by the Korean Central Television, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, presiding over a meeting with military officials. [YONHAP]

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un finalized his decision to deploy troops to support Russia in its war against Ukraine on Aug. 28 last year, shortly after Kyiv launched a surprise offensive into Kursk, a video released by the North's state media showed Sunday.

The Korean Central Television recently released the music video of a song titled "Remember," featuring North Korean soldiers who fought in Russia's front-line region of Kursk.

The video's background images include a document on a plan to "liberate" Kursk, ratified by Kim, as well as a scene of the leader in a white summer Mao suit, presiding over a meeting with key military officials, including Pak Jong-chon, vice chairman of the ruling party's Central Military Commission, and Ri Chang-ho, vice chief of the General Staff.

The captions said that Kim "decided on Aug. 28, 2024, to deploy the Korean People's Army special operations troops to the Kursk liberation mission."

It was shortly after Ukraine launched a surprise offensive into Russia's Kursk region about two weeks earlier.

"[North Korea] will deem Russian territory as our territory and view any breach of Russia's sovereignty by the United States and Western group as a breach of our country's sovereignty," the music video quoted Kim as saying.

Kim also urged troops to display "bravery and heroic fighting spirit" to eradicate Ukrainian "invaders" and "liberate" Kursk.

In June last year, Kim signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Pyongyang, with both sides committing to provide military and other assistance without delay if either comes under armed attack.

Under the treaty, the first batch of 11,000 soldiers was dispatched in late October, followed by around 3,000 more between January and February this year.

Documents released by the North Korean television channel also indicated that North Korean and Russian troops experienced mismatches in their battles against Ukraine, with a document ratified by Kim on Dec. 22 pointing to losses of North Korean soldiers due to the poor performance of Russian troops.

North Korean people, officers and soldiers of the Korean People's Army pay respect to the statues of former North Korean leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il on Mansu Hill in Pyongyang on July 8 on the occasion of the 31st anniversary of demise of Kim Il-sung. [AP/YONHAP]

In another document signed on Nov. 14, Kim urged "everyone to be cautious," and that "troop losses should be minimized," calling on commanders dispatched to Kursk to exercise special safety precautions.

The video first appeared on the North Korean channel on Aug. 22, highlighting the sacrifices and contributions made by North Korean troops in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Released ahead of China's large-scale military parade on Wednesday, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the video appears intended to secure more economic rewards from Russia for the troop deployment.

Kim and Putin both plan to attend the military parade and are expected to hold a summit on the occasion.

Yonhap