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North Korea\u2019s leader, Kim Jong-un, has ordered the building of a monument for its soldiers who were killed fighting for Russia in the war against Ukraine, state media reported on Monday, confirming the North\u2019s military<\/a> role in the European conflict for the first time.<\/p>\n Mr. Kim\u2019s decision to start sending North Korean troops last year to fight for Russia opened \u201ca new chapter of history which demonstrated the highest strategic level of the firm militant friendship\u201d between the two countries, \u200bthe Central Military Commission \u200bof the North\u2019s ruling Workers\u2019 Party said in a statement carried in its state media on Monday.<\/p>\n The statement marked the first time North Korea has acknowledged its deployment of troops to Russia or their participation in combat against Ukrainian forces.<\/p>\n On Saturday, Valery Gerasimov, Russia\u2019s top military commander, praised the North Korean troops\u2019 \u201cfortitude and heroism\u200b, \u201d as he claimed the \u201ccomplete liberation\u201d of Russia\u2019s Kursk border region\u200b. He also thanked them for their \u201cconsiderable assistance in defeating the group of Ukrainian armed forces\u200b,\u201d His comments were Russia\u2019s first acknowledgment of North Korean troops fighting on its side.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mr. Kim also praised his troops\u2019 \u201cheroism and bravery,\u201d the North\u2019s state media said. As many as 4,000 North Korean troops have been killed or wounded while \u200bfighting alongside Russia\u200bn forces to help them retake territories lost to Ukraine in Kursk\u200b, according to South Korean and Ukrainian officials.<\/p>\n \u201cA monument to the battle feats will be soon erected in our capital city and flowers of praying for immortality given by the motherland and the people will be placed before the tombstones of the fallen soldiers,\u201d Mr. Kim was quoted as saying by the North\u2019s official Korean Central News Agency\u200b.<\/p>\n He also ordered his government \u201cto specially and preferentially treat and take care of the families of the brave soldiers who participated in the war.\u201d<\/p>\n North Korea has sent 14,000 troops, mostly members of its special operations units<\/a>, to Russia since last year, including 3,000<\/a> dispatched between January and February to replace those killed or wounded, according to South Korean officials.<\/p>\n Ukraine has disputed the claim by both Russia and North Korea to have retaken Kursk, insisting that its troops were still holding positions there.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Kyiv had hoped to use the land it had occupied in Kursk as a bargaining chip in future peace talks with Russia, which has seized parts of eastern and southern Ukraine since its offensive began in 2022. Its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, met with President Donald J. Trump on the sidelines of Pope Francis\u2019 funeral at the Vatican on Saturday to discuss a cease-fire.<\/p>\n The North\u2019s state media indicated \u200bthat Mr. Kim first proposed to send troops to Russia under a mutual defense treaty<\/a> he signed with Russia\u2019s president, Vladimir V. Putin, in Pyongyang in June last year. The treaty calls for both nations to provide military assistance without delay if either of them is attacked.<\/p>\n South Korean and United States officials have said they fear that North Korea is receiving badly needed economic aid and assistance in weapons technologies from Russia in return for its troop deployment.<\/p>\n On Monday, North Korea said its alliance with Russia \u201cverified at the cost of blood in combat gunfire will greatly contribute to expanding and developing the future relations of friendship and cooperation between\u201d the two nations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n