Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed that North Korean troops were deployed to assist Russian forces in repelling a Ukrainian incursion into the Kursk region, calling it North Korea’s initiative.

South Korea estimates up to 15,000 North Korean soldiers were sent, with around 2,000 killed, marking Pyongyang’s first major foreign military engagement.

The deployment raises concerns in Kyiv and among Western allies about the widening scope of Russia’s war and the battlefield experience North Korea could gain, Newsweek has reported.

Kim Jong Un framed the mission as a “fraternal duty” to Russia, and has since honored participating soldiers while signaling potential future deployments under a 2024 military partnership treaty between Moscow and Pyongyang.