Russian President Vladimir Putin has thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for sending thousands of troops to fight alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, crediting them with helping to “liberate” the Kursk region from Ukrainian control.

In a phone call with Kim on Tuesday, the Kremlin said Putin also briefed the North Korean leader on his planned talks with US President Donald Trump in Alaska this week, Reuters reported.

North Korea’s state news agency KCNA confirmed the conversation but did not mention Friday’s scheduled Putin-Trump meeting. Instead, it highlighted both leaders’ pledge to deepen ties under a strategic partnership agreement signed last year.

Putin lauded Pyongyang’s military support, describing “the bravery, heroism and self-sacrificing spirit displayed by service personnel of the Korean People’s Army” in combat. “Their contribution to liberating the Kursk region has been invaluable,” he said, according to the Kremlin readout.

South Korean intelligence estimates more than 10,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to western Russia, with another contingent reportedly being prepared for dispatch.

KCNA quoted both leaders reaffirming their “will to strengthen cooperation in the future,” with Putin calling the military partnership a symbol of “shared resolve” between Moscow and Pyongyang.

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With inputs from Reuters

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