North Korea, on Monday (April 28) admitted, for the first time, that it had deployed troops to Russia. A North Korean state media report states that Pyongyang's soldiers were sent to help Russia reclaim Kursk, which was seized by Ukraine last year.

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The admission, carried by the KCNA news agency, comes days after Moscow acknowledged North Korea's participation in the war. South Korean and Western intelligence agencies had earlier reported that Pyongyang sent more than 10,000 troops to assist in Kursk operations last year.

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'Heroes' liberating Kursk

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"The sub-units of our armed forces participated in the operations for liberating the Kursk areas according to the order of the head of state of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea," said the North’s powerful Central Military Commission, as reported by KCNA.

It added that the operation was "victoriously concluded".

"The operations for liberating the Kursk area to repel the adventurous invasion of the Russian Federation by the Ukrainian authorities were victoriously concluded".

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This comes as on Saturday (Apr 26) Russian Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov praised the "heroism" of the North Korean soldiers, saying they provided "significant assistance in defeating the group of Ukrainian armed forces".

North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong Un, meanwhile, called the deployed troops "heroes" and said that they were deployed in accordance with a mutual defence treaty.

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"They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honour of the motherland," he said, as per the KCNA report.

He also acknowledged the deaths of North Korean soldiers and said that a monument acknowledging the "battle feats" would soon be built in the capital, and also referred to "the tombstones of the fallen soldiers". Kim also called for special national measures to support the families of the fallen and said that the country must "take important national measures to specially honour and care for the families of war veterans".