North Korea confirms that it dispatched troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine

North Korea confirmed Monday for the first time that it sent troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine.

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U.S., South Korean and Ukraine intelligence officials have said North Korea dispatched about 10,000-12,000 troops to Russia last fall. But North Korea hadn't confirmed or denied its reported troop deployments to Russia until Monday.

President Vladimir Putin thanked North Korean troops for fighting against Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk region.

Leader Kim Jong Un decided to send combat troops to Russia under a mutual defense treaty, the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers' Party said in a statement.

It cited Kim as saying the deployment was meant to "annihilate and wipe out the Ukrainian neo-Nazi occupiers and liberate the Kursk area in cooperation with the Russian armed forces.”