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 confirmed for the first time that it sent troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine. US, South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence officials have said North Korea dispatched about 10,000-12,000 troops to Russia last year, but North Korea had not confirmed or denied its reported troop deployments to Russia until Monday.