The leaders of North Korea and Russia sent New Year’s greetings, praising the “precious” shared experience of “blood, life and death” in the Ukraine war.
Published December 27, 2025
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent New Year’s greetings to Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying that his ties with Russia had been strengthened by “sharing blood, life and death in the same trenches” during the Ukraine war.
Kim’s message follows Putin’s New Year’s greetings to the North Korean leader on December 18, praising the “heroic” role played by North Korean troops in Russia’s western Kursk region and “clearly proving the unyielding friendship” between the two countries, state media reported.
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In a message to President Putin published by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Saturday, Kim said 2025 was a “truly meaningful year” for bilateral relations and said relations between Moscow and North Korea were “a precious common heritage that will be passed down not only to the present day but also to future generations forever.”
“Now no one can destroy the relationship and unity between the peoples of our two countries,” Kim said, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.
South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have announced that North Korea has sent thousands of troops to support Russia in its war against Ukraine.
In April, North Korea officially acknowledged that it sent troops to support Russia’s military operation against Ukraine and that a soldier had been killed in combat.
Earlier this month, Kim acknowledged that North Korean troops were sent to clear landmines in Russia’s Kursk region in August 2025 in response to the invasion of Ukraine, and that at least nine soldiers from an engineering regiment were killed during the 120-day deployment.
Kim’s New Year’s message to Putin came a day after Putin ordered officials to increase missile production and build factories to produce munitions.
North Korea has also stepped up missile tests in recent years, which analysts say are aimed at improving the accuracy of its arsenal of short-, intermediate- and long-range rockets to thwart what Kim sees as threats from the United States and South Korea. Analysts say the increased weapons testing may also be linked to North Korea’s military equipment exports to Russia.
In addition to sending troops, North Korea is believed to have supplied Moscow with artillery shells, missiles, and long-range rocket systems, while Russia is believed to have provided North Korea with financial aid, military technology, and food and energy supplies.
