Kim Jong Un Hails Troops Back From Russia’s Ukraine Front

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met this week in Pyongyang with commanders of troops recently returned from Russia’s war against Ukraine and praised their performance as “heroic,” state-run Korean Central News Agency reported. The officers led Korean People’s Army units that, according to KCNA, took part in operations to “liberate” Russia’s Kursk region. Kim said the deployment had reinforced the army’s reputation as “the most powerful in the world” and conveyed “militant encouragement” to troops still in the field. KCNA photographs showed senior General Staff officials at the meeting ahead of what the agency said will be the first national commendation ceremony for soldiers involved in the overseas mission. South Korean intelligence services estimate that North Korea has dispatched more than 10,000 personnel to support Moscow and may be preparing additional deployments, underscoring the deepening military cooperation between the two countries since their mutual-defence pact was signed last year.