North Korea confirms troop deployment to Russia's Kursk

North Korea confirmed for the first time on Monday it had deployed troops to Russia, with its state news agency KCNA reporting Pyongyang's soldiers helped Moscow reclaim territory under Ukrainian control in the Russian border region of Kursk.

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The admission comes just days after Moscow confirmed the North's participation, while Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday heralded the “feat” of Pyongyang's troops.

South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have long reported that Pyongyang sent more than 10,000 soldiers to help in Kursk last year.

North Korean forces “participated in the operations for liberating the Kursk areas”, Pyongyang's Central Military Commission said in the KCNA report.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's decision to deploy the troops, it said, was in accordance with a mutual defense treaty.

“They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honor of the motherland,” Kim said, according to KCNA.