North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said on Sept. 14 that he’s looking to “expand and deepen” joint projects with Russia, further establishing the relationship between Pyongyang and Moscow.
Kim said in the Sept. 14 message that their alliance was “firm and unwavering,” according to North Korean state-run media outlet KCNA.
In apparent reference to the Russia–Ukraine war, Kim continued that North Korea pledged its support to the Russian Federation “in today’s holy war to defend the country’s security interests and international justice.”
The message was a response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s congratulations to Kim on the 78th anniversary of the establishment of North Korea.
In the Sept. 9 message, Putin had said that the two countries would work together to strengthen their strategic partnership.
Putin said that this “fully serves the interests of the peoples of Russia and North Korea, and is in line with ensuring regional security and building a new, more just, multipolar world order,” according to Russian state-run news agency TASS.
Relations between North Korea and Russia have deepened since the start of the Russia–Ukraine war in 2022, with Pyongyang sending thousands of troops to aid Moscow in fighting in the conflict.
South Korean lawmaker Rep. Yoo Yong-won said on Aug. 24 that a report he received from the South Korean Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) said that North Korea is continuing preparations for an additional troop deployment to Russia.
However, there were no signs that such a deployment was imminent.
The DIA said that since October 2024, Pyongyang has deployed more than 16,000 troops to Russia, many of whom were believed to have been killed or injured.
The agency said that North Korea is also believed to have provided Russia with more than 15 million rounds of artillery shells and weapons systems, including short-range ballistic missiles.
The week prior, Kim Yo Jong, sister of the North Korean leader, denied Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s claim that Pyongyang was planning to send up to 50,000 more troops to Russia to fight in Ukraine.
Kim Praises Troops Engaged Overseas
During North Korea’s 78th anniversary celebrations, KCNA quoted Kim on Sept. 10 as praising troops “participating in overseas military operations,” likely in reference to North Korean troops supporting Moscow.
The participation of North Korean soldiers in Russia’s war on Ukraine was also recognized by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov last month, who told his North Korean counterpart that Moscow and Pyongyang were working to establish a “new and righteous world order,” after North Korean soldiers helped drive Ukrainian forces from a Russian region in 2025.
Lavrov said in an Aug. 18 message to North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui that the participation of service personnel from the Korean People’s Army “is a clear proof of the tradition of the militant friendship forged by the heroic preceding generations.”
Russia-North Korea Road Bridge
Beyond military partnerships, Pyongyang and Moscow have been developing strategic infrastructure projects.
Last week, Russia and North Korea opened the first road bridge linking the two countries, signaling closer diplomatic and economic cooperation.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said at the opening ceremony on Sept. 7 that the two-lane bridge over the Tumen River will initially handle up to 300 vehicular crossings every day, giving drivers access to Russia’s federal road network that runs from Vladivostok in the far east to St. Petersburg in the west.
The Russian government said that trucks will be able to use the bridge immediately for transporting cargo, and it’s expected that passenger traffic will be using the route by the end of this year.
Owen Evans contributed to this report.
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