North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed his unwavering support for Russia’s war in Ukraine during a meeting with Russian security council secretary Sergei Shoigu in Pyongyang, North Korea state media reported Saturday.
The meeting on Friday followed a South Korean intelligence assessment in late February suggesting North Korea had likely sent additional troops to Russia after heavy casualties among Russian forces in Ukraine.
On Wednesday, Ukraine and Russia agreed in principle to a limited ceasefire following discussions with US President Donald Trump, though details on its implementation and restricted targets remain unclear.
According to North Korean and Russian state media, Kim and Shoigu discussed Russia’s war in Ukraine, Moscow’s dialogues with the Trump administration, and security developments on the Korean Peninsula. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to “unconditionally” uphold a major mutual defence treaty established during last year’s summit in Pyongyang, which pledges mutual assistance if either nation faces aggression.
During the meeting, Kim stated that North Korea would “invariably support Russia in the struggle for defending the national sovereignty, territorial integrity and security interests,” according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Shoigu delivered a message from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who extended his greetings to Kim and vowed to give “utmost attention” to implementing agreements from their previous summits. He also thanked North Korea for its “solidarity with Russia’s position on all critical geopolitical issues, particularly on the Ukrainian issue.”
Neither North Korean nor Russian media reported any new agreements before Shoigu’s departure from Pyongyang later on Friday.
North Korea has been supplying Russia with large quantities of conventional weapons and reportedly sent between 10,000 to 12,000 troops to Russia last fall, according to US, South Korean, and Ukrainian intelligence officials. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service stated on February 27 that it was working to determine the exact number of additional North Korean troops deployed to Russia. Some South Korean media estimates place the newly deployed forces at between 1,000 and 3,000 soldiers.
South Korea, the US, and other nations suspect North Korea is receiving economic and military assistance from Russia in exchange for providing troops and weaponry. Analysts believe North Korea will likely increase its support for Russia to maximize its strategic gains before the war ends.
Shoigu’s visit may be linked to preparations for Kim to travel to Russia, some observers suggest. Putin had invited Kim to visit Moscow during his trip to Pyongyang last year for their summit.
In 2023, when Shoigu, then serving as Russia’s defence minister, visited North Korea, Kim personally guided him through a North Korean arms exhibition, which outside critics likened to a sales pitch. Shoigu returned in September 2024 in his new role as security council secretary to meet Kim again, with state media reporting that the two discussed expanding cooperation.
Meanwhile, earlier on Friday, KCNA reported that Kim oversaw the test launches of new anti-aircraft missiles the previous day. Kim described the missiles as “another major defence weapons system” for North Korea.
The missile tests marked North Korea’s sixth weapons launch this year and coincided with the conclusion of the annual US-South Korea military exercises, which North Korea views as a rehearsal for invasion. The 11-day Freedom Shield exercise was the first large-scale joint military drill since Trump’s inauguration in January.
North Korea frequently responds to major US-South Korean drills with weapons tests and aggressive rhetoric. Just hours after this year’s Freedom Shield exercise began on March 10, North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles into the sea.