Russia speaker thanks North Korea's Kim for 'liberation of Kursk'

Seoul: Russia's parliamentary speaker thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for "the liberation of Kursk" by sending troops there to fight off Ukrainians, Russian news agency TASS reported on Sunday.

Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops -- as well as missiles and munitions -- to support Russia's war in Ukraine.

They were deployed to Russia's western Kursk region to fend off a months-long counter-offensive by Kyiv's troops.

Seoul estimates about 2,000 North Koreans have been killed in Moscow's war with Ukraine.

In return, analysts say North Korea is receiving financial aid, military technology, food and energy from Russia, helping Pyongyang circumvent heavy international sanctions over its banned nuclear programmes.

A Russian delegation, including Vyacheslav Volodin -- the speaker of Russia's Duma, or lower house of parliament -- arrived in Pyongyang on Saturday to attend the opening ceremony of a memorial complex honouring those killed while supporting Moscow's war effort against Ukraine.

"(Let me express these) words of gratitude to you, esteemed Comrade Kim Jong Un, and to the Korean people for their fraternal support in the liberation of Kursk," Volodin was quoted as saying by TASS.

"Korean soldiers fought shoulder to shoulder with our soldiers and officers, liberating Russian soil from the Ukrainian Nazis," he said.

A short video posted on TASS's Telegram account shows Volodin and Kim hugging, with Volodin delivering his opening remarks in a meeting.

Russia's Defence Minister Andrey Belousov also arrived in Pyongyang on Sunday "for talks with the country's top leadership and armed forces command", TASS reported.

In 2024 the two countries signed a military treaty, obligating both states to provide military assistance "without delay" in the event of an attack on the other.

North Korean soldiers are said to have been instructed to kill themselves rather than be captured in battle.

Only two North Korean troops have been captured alive and are currently in custody of Ukrainian authorities.

The two soldiers have expressed their desire to come to South Korea.