North Korean leader reaffirms support for Russia’s war in Ukraine in talks with top official

In this this photo provided by the North Korean government, Russia's Security Council Secretary, Sergey Shoigu, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shake hands during their meeting in Pyongyang, North Korea Friday, March 21, 2025. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP) (朝鮮通信社/AP)

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed his unwavering support for Russia’s war in Ukraine during a meeting with a top Russian security official in Pyongyang, North Korean state media said Saturday.

Friday’s meeting between Kim and Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s Security Council secretary, followed a South Korean intelligence assessment in late February that North Korea had likely sent additional troops to Russia after its forces suffered heavy casualties fighting in the Russian-Ukraine war. Ukraine and Russia agreed in principle Wednesday to a limited ceasefire after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with the two countries' leaders, though it remains to be seen when it might take effect and what targets would be off-limits.

North Korean and Russian state media said Kim and Shoigu discussed various issues, including Russia’s war in Ukraine, Moscow’s dialogues with the Trump administration and the security situation on the Korean Peninsula. They reaffirmed the willingness of the two countries' leaders to “unconditionally” uphold a major mutual defense treaty reached at a summit last year in Pyongyang, which pledges mutual assistance if either country faces aggression, according to the reports.

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said Kim during the meeting reaffirmed his willingness to “invariably support Russia in the struggle for defending the national sovereignty, territorial integrity and security interests.”

Shoigu conveyed a message from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who extended his greetings to Kim and vowed to give “utmost attention” to implementing agreements reached in their recent summits. He expressed gratitude for North Korea’s “solidarity with Russia’s position on all critical geopolitical issues, particularly on the Ukrainian issue,” according to his televised comments.

North Korean and Russia media didn’t say whether any new agreements were reached before Shoigu departed Pyongyang later on Friday.

North Korea has been supplying a vast amount of conventional weapons to Russia, and last fall it sent about 10,000 to 12,000 troops to Russia as well, according to U.S., South Korean and Ukraine intelligence officials. In its Feb. 27 statement, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said it was trying to determine exactly how many more troops North Korea has deployed to Russia. South Korean media put the number of newly deployed North Korean soldiers at about 1,000 to 3,000.

South Korea, the U.S. and others suspect North Korea is receiving economic and military assistance from Russia in return for providing weapons and troops. Many experts say North Korea will likely ramp up its support of Russia to win as many benefits as possible from Russia before the war ends.

Shoigu’s trip could be related to preparations for Kim to visit Russia, some observers say. Putin invited Kim to visit Moscow when he visited Pyongyang last year for the summit.

In 2023, when Shoigu, then a defense minister, traveled to North Korea, Kim gave him a personal tour of a North Korean arms exhibition in what outside critics likened to a sales pitch. In September 2024, Shoigu, then in the new security council post, went to North Korea again for a meeting with Kim, and the two discussed expanding cooperation, according to North Korea’s state media.

Earlier Friday, KCNA said Kim oversaw the test-launches of new anti-aircraft missiles the previous day. It cited Kim as calling the missiles “another major defense weapons system” for North Korea.

The missile launches, North Korea’s sixth weapons testing activity this year, occurred on the same day that the U.S. and South Korean militaries concluded their annual training that North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal. The 11-day Freedom Shield exercise was the allies' first major joint military training since Trump’s inauguration in January.

North Korea often responds to major U.S.-South Korean military drills with its own weapons tests and fiery rhetoric. Hours after this year’s Freedom Shield training began on March 10, North Korea fired several ballistic missiles into the sea.

Article by Hyung-jin Kim And Kim Tong-hyung.