In the capital of North Korea, soldiers who fought in the Kursk region on the side of Russia marched under the Russian flag.
This is reported by NK News.
The event took place on the evening of February 25th on the occasion of a congress of the ruling Workersʼ Party of Korea. It was attended by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Heorhii Tykhyi reacted to the march of North Korean soldiers under the Russian flag. He noted that the North Korean military "may seem proud, but they have nothing to be proud of".
He also recalled the dead soldiers from the DPRK who participated in hostilities against Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region.
"This propaganda farce is missing at least six thousand North Korean soldiers who did not march in Pyongyang that day. They died in an illegal war of aggression eight thousand kilometers from home, to which they had no connection," Tykhyi emphasized.
In his opinion, it is extremely important for the whole world to realize that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “is not supplying this cannon fodder for free. Instead, he receives specific and dangerous support from Putin”.
"We believe that this should concern every country in the Indo-Pacific region, and we confirm Ukraineʼs readiness to cooperate closely to counter common security threats arising from the deepening cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman emphasized.
The Union of Russia and the DPRK
Russia is using North Korean soldiers in the war with Ukraine — the first of them arrived at the front in October 2024, when it was about 12 000 people. And in March 2025, North Korea sent another 3 000 soldiers.
Initially, both sides denied this, but on April 26 of this year, Russia officially acknowledged for the first time the participation of North Korean troops in the war against Ukraine. Two days later, North Korea confirmed that its troops were participating in Russiaʼs full-scale war against Ukraine, including fighting on the Kursk Bulge.
In addition to manpower, the DPRK provides Russia with weapons. As early as January 4, 2024, Western media wrote that Russia had received a batch of ballistic missiles from the DPRK (several dozen) and launchers for them. On the same day, the US officially stated that Russia had short-range ballistic missiles from the DPRK and had launched them over Ukraine.
The head of GUR Kyrylo Budanov said in January 2025 that North Korea plans to send another 150 ballistic missiles to Russia this year.
In April, Reuters reported that North Korea had transferred up to 6 million shells to Russia. Without them, Russia would not have been able to wage war so actively. At some points last year, the majority of shells used by individual Russian units were North Korean. In some places, it was said to be 100%.
In July, Ukrainian intelligence noted that North Korea intends to triple the number of its military fighting on the side of Russia and send an additional 25 000 to 30 000 soldiers to help Moscow.
As of September 2025, according to South Korean intelligence, about two thousand North Korean soldiers have already died in Russiaʼs war against Ukraine.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.