North Korea acknowledged for the first time that it deployed troops to support Russia’s war on Ukraine, claiming the country’s military had helped Moscow retake control of the border region of Kursk.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un decided to participate in the conflict to liberate the Kursk region and to repel the “adventurous invasion” of Russia by the Ukrainian army in an operation that has been “victoriously concluded,” the official Korean Central News Agency said Monday, citing North Korea’s Central Military Commission.

It said the decision to join the war was in line with the two countries’ mutual defense treaty sealed last year. Kim called it a “sacred mission” to further bolster their ties, according to KCNA. North Korea’s confirmation comes after Russian Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov on Saturday thanked North Korean troops for their participation in fighting in the Kursk region, making it the first time Russia acknowledged using Pyongyang’s military in Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also thanked Korean army for military support, according to the statement on the Kremlin website on Monday.

It follows Russia’s claim that it has completed its efforts to push Ukrainian forces from the Kursk region, a development that would deny Ukraine an important bargaining chip with Moscow after it held the territory for seven months.

Moscow’s claim could not be independently verified. However, Ukraine’s military denied on Saturday that it had been fully expelled from the Russian region, telling Bloomberg News that its forces held their positions in the area and “continue to hold off attacks in the Kursk direction.”

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has dialed up pressure on Kyiv to reach a peace accord that critics fear may favor Moscow, said Russia and Ukraine were “very close” to an agreement. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he hopes for a “reliable and lasting peace” after meeting Trump in Rome on Saturday before the funeral of Pope Francis.

If North Korea’s claims are verified, its soldiers could end up gaining the real-world exposure and modern combat experience they badly lack. Pyongyang’s regime controls one of the world’s biggest militaries with some 1.3 million active personnel. While Kim’s regime is keen to showcase its defense capabilities with its missile launches, South Korea’s spy agency has said North Korea’s soldiers lack an understanding of modern warfare.

Pyongyang’s official confirmation of its participation in the conflict follows months of reports that its troops were participating in the war. In January, Ukrainian military captured two North Korean soldiers and Seoul estimated that some 300 of Pyongyang’s troops had died while supporting Russia’s campaign. South Korean and Ukraine intelligence officials have said North Korea dispatched at least 10,000 soldiers to Russia last fall.

The country’s armed forces “fully demonstrated their high fighting spirit and military temperament,” KCNA added.

The South Korea government urged the immediate withdrawal of North Korean troops from Russia and vowed to respond resolutely together with the international community if the current military collusion between North Korea and Russia continues, Unification Ministry spokesman Koo Byoung-sam said at a briefing.

The North Korean military’s participation in the war is a clear illegal act that violates U.N. resolutions, and the acknowledgment of it is also an admission of criminal activity, Koo added, pointing to the U.N. Charter, which renounces acts of aggression and U.N. Security Council resolutions banning military cooperation with North Korea.

On Friday, Kim, accompanied by his young daughter Ju Ae, attended a launch ceremony for a new 5,000-ton destroyer, which KCNA said was equipped with powerful cutting-edge strike weapon systems that mark a breakthrough in the country’s efforts to modernize its naval forces.

Ukraine’s allies including the U.S. and South Korea have warned that Pyongyang’s involvement in the fighting, which has now entered its fourth year, risks exacerbating what is already Europe’s largest conflict since World War II. They voiced concerns that the deepening cooperation between Putin and Kim could also impact the security balance in the Indo-Pacific region, where there’s a mounting rivalry between China and the U.S.

Kim has been a key ally of Putin, providing rare reinforcements to prop up his war, which also stoked concerns about Moscow’s potential aid to boost Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile arsenal.

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With assistance from Shinhye Kang.

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