After Joint Military Training Footage Release,
Combat Video of Kursk Recapture Operation Unveiled
U.S. State Department Criticizes Military Cooperation Between the Two Countries
Kim Jong Un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, in 2019. On the 29th (local time), Russia's TASS news agency released related footage, reporting that North Korean troops participated jointly with Russian forces in the liberation operation of the Suzansky district in Kursk near the Russian border. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News
As footage was released showing North Korean troops participating alongside Russian forces in the operation to retake Kursk, the Trump administration in the United States criticized the military cooperation between the two countries. The U.S. State Department urged North Korea to cease all support for the war, stating that "third countries like North Korea are prolonging the Russia-Ukraine war."
On the 29th (local time), Russia's TASS news agency released footage showing North Korean troops participating jointly with Russian forces in the liberation operation of the Suzansky district in Kursk near the Russian border. This release followed the previous day's publication of training scenes, now showing actual combat footage.
In the footage, North Korean soldiers are seen taking turns with Russian troops to fire at targets from inside ruined buildings, carrying out operations together. There is also a scene where a flag is planted on a building that appears to be a destroyed church. Russian troops first planted the Russian national flag on the building, after which North Korean soldiers waved a red flag bearing the hammer and sickle, symbolizing the former Soviet Union or the Communist Party, and then placed it next to the Russian flag. Other scenes show Russian and North Korean soldiers inspecting a captured Ukrainian tank, as well as North Korean soldiers laying flowers at a memorial wall and saluting.
On the 26th, Russia announced that Kursk had been completely liberated, confirming for the first time that North Korean troops had participated in the battle for Kursk. North Korea also confirmed its troop deployment to Russia the previous day through a written statement from the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party, reported by the Korean Central News Agency. Subsequently, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a statement expressing gratitude to Kim Jong Un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, for the dispatch of North Korean troops. Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for the Kremlin, mentioned the possibility that President Putin may reward the North Korean soldiers who participated in the battle for Kursk.
On the same day, the United States officially expressed regret over North Korea's troop deployment to Russia. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce stated at a briefing that "third countries like North Korea have prolonged the Russia-Ukraine war and must be held accountable." She criticized, "North Korea is not being helpful. Other countries like North Korea are fueling this disaster, and their actions are enabling the war to continue."
She continued, "We remain concerned about North Korea's direct involvement in the war," adding, "Both the dispatch of North Korean troops for Russia and any quid pro quo support from Russia to North Korea must cease." In particular, she pointed out that Russia's training of North Korean troops "directly violates UN Security Council Resolutions 1718, 1874, and 2270," reminding that "these resolutions broadly prohibit the provision and receipt of military training or assistance to North Korea."
Additionally, spokesperson Bruce, referring to U.S. mediation efforts for an end-of-war agreement, said she had just heard from Secretary of State Marco Rubio before the briefing, and relayed his message: "Now is the time for both sides (Russia and Ukraine) to put forward concrete proposals to end the war. How things proceed from here will depend on the decision of President Donald Trump. If there is no progress, we will cease our role as mediator."
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