Sat Dec 27 08:50:00 UTC 2025: North Korea and Russia Exchange New Year’s Greetings, Highlighting Shared Sacrifice in Ukraine War
SEOUL – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin exchanged New Year’s greetings, with both leaders emphasizing the strengthened ties between their nations cemented by what Kim described as “sharing blood, life and death in the same trench” during the conflict in Ukraine.
Kim’s message, reported by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Saturday, called 2025 a “really meaningful year” for bilateral relations, referring to Moscow-Pyongyang ties as a “precious common asset.” He asserted that “no one can break the relations between the peoples of the two countries and their unity.”
Putin’s greeting on December 18th praised North Korean troops for their “heroic” role in the Kursk region, claiming it “clearly proved the invincible friendship” between the two nations.
These messages follow confirmation from North Korea in April that it had deployed troops to support Russia’s war in Ukraine, with Kim acknowledging earlier this month that North Korean soldiers were sent to clear landmines in the Kursk region in August 2025, suffering casualties in the process.
Intelligence agencies believe North Korea has deployed thousands of troops to aid Russia and has supplied artillery shells, missiles, and rocket systems in exchange for financial and technological assistance, and supplies of food and energy.
Kim’s New Year’s message comes after he instructed officials to increase missile production, a move analysts suggest is linked to both North Korea’s weapons testing program aimed at deterring perceived threats from the U.S. and South Korea, and its growing military exports to Russia.
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