\n<\/p>\n
For months, Moscow and Pyongyang had been vague about the deployment of North Korean troops<\/a> in Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine, even after Kyiv publicly paraded two North Korean soldiers its forces had captured<\/a>.<\/p>\n Then, in back-to-back statements, the leaders of the two countries confirmed that North Korean troops have been fighting shoulder to shoulder with Russia\u2019s, saying they had helped liberate the Kursk border region from Ukrainian forces.<\/p>\n Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, said he had sent troops to Russia to boost its military alliance, praising their \u201cheroism and bravery,\u201d the country\u2019s state media said Monday. Mr. Kim ordered a monument be built for soldiers slain in Russia, as if to remind President Vladimir V. Putin of the debt he owed.<\/p>\n Mr. Putin said Monday that the Russian people would never forget the feats of North Korea\u2019s special forces. \u201cWe will always honor the Korean heroes who gave their lives for Russia, for our common freedom, on par with their Russian brothers in arms,\u201d he said in a statement published on the Kremlin website.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The statements followed Russia\u2019s first official acknowledgment of North Korea\u2019s military assistance on Saturday, even though the alliance has long been known. Officials from South Korea, Ukraine and the United States have said as many as 4,000 North Korean troops have been killed or wounded while fighting for Russia since last year.<\/p>\n North Korea has sent 14,000 troops, mostly members of its special operations units<\/a>, to Russia, including 3,000<\/a> dispatched earlier this year to replace those killed or wounded, according to South Korean officials. North Korea has also provided millions of artillery shells, as well as many ballistic missiles, which Russia has used to pound Ukrainian cities.<\/p>\n The sudden but coordinated revelation indicated that both Russia and North Korea were using their newly formed military alliance as negotiating leverage, analysts said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n By claiming the \u201ccomplete liberation\u201d of Kursk with the help of North Korean troops, Moscow was depriving Ukraine of a key bargaining chip in peace talks. North Korea\u2019s continued commitment of military aid also helps strengthen Russia\u2019s negotiating power as the U.S. president, Donald J. Trump, grows impatient for a peace deal with both Moscow and Kyiv. On Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that Mr. Trump might abandon his attempts to broker a settlement if he does not see progress soon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n For North Korea, cementing a military alliance with Russia \u201cat the cost of blood in combat gunfire\u201d and keeping Mr. Putin beholden to Mr. Kim increases its own diplomatic leverage against Washington. Mr. Trump has said he wanted to reach out<\/a> to Mr. Kim for a possible deal over his nuclear weapons program.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a win-win strategy for both Russia and North Korea,\u201d said Hong Min, a North Korea expert at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul.<\/p>\n On Saturday, Gen. Valery V. 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<\/p>\n The Ukrainian army had stunned Russia in August by attacking across the border and taking control of parts of Kursk. But the Russians began beating them back after the arrival of North Korean troops late last year. On Saturday, General Gerasimov claimed that Russia now controlled parts of the adjacent Ukrainian region of Sumy as well, although he didn\u2019t specify whether the North Koreans joined in that operation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Ukraine has disputed the claim by Russia 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 peace talks with Russia, which has seized parts of eastern and southern Ukraine since its offensive began in 2022. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine met with Mr. Trump on the sidelines of Pope Francis\u2019 funeral at the Vatican on Saturday to discuss a cease-fire.<\/p>\n