Putin Thanks North Korean Troops Who Fought in Kursk, Honors War Dead

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed gratitude to North Korean troops who took part in fighting in the Kursk region. 

TASS reported on April 26 (local time) that Putin issued a congratulatory message marking the opening in Pyongyang of a memorial complex for heroes of overseas military operations and a military heroes museum.

Vladimir Putin said in the message, "I sincerely thank the brave Korean (North Korean) soldiers who participated in the battles in the Kursk region, and I would like to pay tribute to the heroes who died."

North Korea pushed to build a memorial for those killed in the Kursk deployment, aiming to complete it for the first anniversary of the "liberation of Kursk." Russia sent a high-level delegation to the memorial’s completion ceremony.

Russia said it had at one point lost Kursk during the war with Ukraine, but officially declared on April 26 last year that it had regained the territory after North Korea entered the fighting.