Putin thanks North Korea for troops deployed in Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday thanked North Korea for deploying troops to aid in the Kremlin's recent military operation against Ukraine.
'Our North Korean friends' move was guided by a sense of solidarity, justice and genuine comradery,' Putin said in a statement, reported by the state-run news organization, TASS.
'We highly appreciate this and are sincerely grateful, personally to the Chairman of the State Affairs Committee, Comrade Kim Jong-un, as well as to the entire leadership and the people of North Korea,' he continued.
Putin praised North Korean soldiers for standing 'shoulder to shoulder' with Russia's soldiers.
'We commend the North Korean soldiers' heroism, their excellent training and dedication displayed while fighting, shoulder to shoulder with Russian soldiers, defending our Motherland as their own,' Putin continued in the statement.
'They fulfilled their duty with honor and valor, covering themselves with unfading glory,' he added.
The statement comes just hours after North Korea first confirmed the troop deployment. The U.S. and its allies reported last fall that North Korea was deploying thousands of troops to aid Russia against Ukraine.
The comments also mark a deepening military alliance between the two countries. The Kremlin said the troop deployment was carried out under their mutual defense treaty signed in June.
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