'North Korea helped liberate Kursk': Putin thanks Kim Jong Un for deployments in Russia

Vladimir Putin conveyed the message to Kim in Beijing, China, where both leaders were invited by Chinese President Xi Jinping to attended the military parade.

In a big message to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked for deploying its army in parts of Russia during the conflict with Ukraine. He also told Kim that it was because of the North Korean military that Russia could "liberate" the Kursk region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrive for a military parade in China (via REUTERS)

The Kursk region has been a big friction point between Russia and Ukraine, with the latter seizing the region in August last year, forcing over 2,00,000 Russians to leave homes. A few months later, Ukraine reportedly lost 40% of the region it captured.

Back then, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky had said that North Korean troops were taking part in the Russian attacks in Kursk, and about 11,000 North Korean personnel were sent to the region.

In January this year, the Ukraine President said that two North Korean soldiers were captured alive on the battlefield.

Putin conveyed the message to Kim in Beijing, China, where both leaders were invited by Chinese President Xi Jinping to attended the military parade. Both leaders travelled together in the same car for bilateral talks after the parade.

As the three leaders of China, Russia and North Korea shared laughs and a walk down the red carpet towards Tiananmen Square at the military parade in China, US President Donald Trump jabbed Xi Jinping, sarcastically asking him to convey his “warm regards” to Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin, as the Chinese President “conspires against the US”.

The military parade in Beijing was organised to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.