Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has for the first time acknowledged that North Korean soldiers took part in the fighting to recover Russian territory after Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region last year.

Pyongyang confirmed on Monday for the first time the deployment of troops to Russia under a mutual defense treaty. Vladimir Putin thanked North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, on Monday for the "feat" of his country's fighters who fought alongside Moscow's forces to reclaim the Russian region of Kursk,

Russia and Ukraine dispute the status of the Kursk region, which Kyiv invaded last year in a surprise and successful incursion into Russian territory.