Kim Jong Un held a ceremony for North Korean troops he sent to Russia(Image: KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Image)
Kim Jong Un finally admitted to sending soldiers to Russia to help with Vladimir Putin’s deadly war efforts against Ukraine.
The North Korean dictator said his troops went to the Kursk region to help clear mines, earlier this year. North Korean soldiers were seen and some captured while fighting alongside Russian troops during the deadly war. Kim Jong Un had stayed quiet on his soldiers’ involvement in his pal Putin’s horror invasion, but he finally acknowledged his role and thanked these troops for “heroic” work in a shocking ceremony, on Friday.
More than 50,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed since Putin ordered his troops to initiate the illegal invasion, according to the UN. The cheery but evil North Korean despot thanked his injured troops in a bizarre ceremony after months of silence.
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Vladimir Putin shaking hands with Kim Jong-un(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
These soldiers were sent to Russia’s Kursk region to remove land mines in a dangerous deployment to help Putin. Nine of these North Korean soldiers were killed, according to Kim’s speech.
Dictator Kim said his troops demonstrated “absolute loyalty” to Pyongyang and praised their political indoctrination and loyalty to him.
The dictator sent a team of his men to the Kursk region to remove land mines for Putin(Image: KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Image)
In a speech he said: “All of you, both officers and soldiers, displayed mass heroism overcoming unimaginable mental and physical burdens almost every day.”
Kim was seen hugging the troops who had come back to Pyongyang from the frontline, and some of those soldiers were in wheelchairs following injuries from the horror mission. He reportedly added that the nine men who died on the mission would be given the title of Hero of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The Kursk region, a Russian border area, was taken by Ukraine last year but despot Putin regained control in spring this year. This set of North Korean soldiers are believed to have gone to the Kursk region to help remove land mines in August.
The despot called the nine men who died on that mission to Russia ‘heroes'(Image: KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Image)
Russian officials claimed the North Korean troops helped to destroy more than 1.5million explosive objects in an area around the size of 80 football pitches. Kim said they were able “work a miracle of turning a vast area of danger zone into a safe and secure one in a matter of less than three months”.
Despite this, Kim’s men have been spotted in Russia before August this year. Two of Pyongyang’s troops were captured alive by Ukrainians in February and one made a shocking admission.
The man claimed he didn’t know that he would be sent to attack Ukraine and thought he would be going to Russia as an overseas student. He added that he wanted to flee to South Korea and asked: “If I apply for asylum, would they take me?”
Kim only confirmed that any troops had been deployed by him to help Putin in April. South Korean intelligence previous estimated around 15,000 North Koreans could have be working in Russia this year.