Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has for the first time acknowledged that North Korean soldiers took part in the fighting to recover Russian territory after Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region last year.

North Korea has for the first time confirmed that it sent troops to fight for Russia against Ukraine. In a report on state news agency KCNA, Pyongyang's military claimed its soldiers helped Russian forces "completely liberate" the Kursk border region, according to an order given by leader Kim Jong Un.