SEOUL, Jan 1 \u2014 North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hailed troops fighting in an \u201calien land\u201d in a New Year message to soldiers, state media reported Thursday, in which he underscored Pyongyang\u2019s alliance with Russia.<\/p>\n
Without mentioning Ukraine, Kim addressed personnel in what state-run KCNA described as \u201coverseas operations units\u201d, congratulating their \u201cheroic\u201d defence of the nation\u2019s honour and instructing them to \u201cbe brave\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the whole country is enveloped in a festive atmosphere of greeting the new year, I all the more miss you, who are fighting bravely on the battlefields in the alien land even at this moment, true to the order of your homeland,\u201d he said, according to the Korean Central News Agency.<\/p>\n
\u201cBehind you are Pyongyang and Moscow,\u201d Kim said in the message.<\/p>\n
North Korea has sent thousands of troops to support Russia\u2019s nearly four-year invasion of Ukraine, according to South Korean and Western intelligence agencies.<\/p>\n
At least 600 have died and thousands more have sustained injuries, according to South Korean estimates.<\/p>\n
Analysts say North Korea is receiving financial aid, military technology and food and energy supplies from Russia in return.<\/p>\n
North Korean soldiers are instructed to kill themselves rather than be taken prisoner, according to South Korea\u2019s intelligence service.<\/p>\n
The North Korean leader praised soldiers for strengthening the \u201cinvincible alliance\u201d with Russia, calling on them to fight \u201cfor the fraternal Russian people\u201d.<\/p>\n
Two North Korean prisoners of war held by Ukraine said they hoped to start a \u201cnew life\u201d in the South, according to a letter seen by AFP in December.<\/p>\n
Previous reports had indicated that the two men, held captive by Kyiv since January 2025 after sustaining injuries on the battlefield, were seeking to defect to the South.<\/p>\n
In the letter, the two prisoners thanked those working on their behalf \u201cfor encouraging us and seeing this situation not as a tragedy but as the beginning of a new life\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe firmly believe that we are never alone, and we think of those in South Korea as our own parents and siblings and have decided to go into their embrace,\u201d they wrote. \u2014 AFP<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
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