The leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Kim Jong Un, has pledged to “unconditionally support” Russia in its ongoing war in Ukraine, expressing confidence in Moscow’s eventual victory.

The remarks were reported Thursday by Pyongyang’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) following a meeting between Kim and top Russian security official Sergei Shoigu.

Kim stated that the DPRK would back "the stand of Russia and its foreign policies in all the crucial international political issues including the Ukrainian issue."

He "expressed expectation and conviction that Russia would, as ever, surely win victory in the sacred cause of justice."

Strengthening Russia–DPRK military ties

During their meeting, both sides agreed to "continue to dynamically expand" bilateral relations. This builds on a sweeping military pact signed last year during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rare visit to the DPRK. The agreement includes a mutual defense clause, aligning the two nations more closely than at any point in recent years.

Shoigu, who previously visited Pyongyang in March, praised the agreement as “fully meeting the interests of both countries.”

The meeting in Pyongyang comes as the DPRK strengthens its alliance with Russia amid intensifying global scrutiny.

DPRK's military involvement in Ukraine

The DPRK has become a key ally of Russia during its more than three-year military campaign in Ukraine. According to South Korean lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun, citing intelligence sources, around 600 DPRK soldiers have been killed and thousands more wounded while fighting for Russia, particularly in the Kursk border region.

In April, Pyongyang acknowledged for the first time that it had deployed troops to Russia and confirmed that some had been killed in combat. Additionally, South Korea has accused the DPRK of supplying large quantities of weaponry, including missiles, to bolster Russia’s military operations.

South Korea’s inaugurated president calls for communication channels with DPRK

The same day Kim and Shoigu met, South Korea inaugurated its new president, Lee Jae-myung. In contrast to his predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol, Lee called for renewed efforts to engage with the DPRK.

During his inaugural address, he pledged to “deter North Korean nuclear and military provocations while opening communication channels and pursuing dialogue and cooperation to build peace on the Korean Peninsula.”

Multilateral sanctions monitoring group denounces Russia–DPRK alliance

Meanwhile, a multilateral sanctions monitoring group, including the United States, South Korea, Japan, and eight other nations, recently denounced the Russia–DPRK alliance as "unlawful".

According to the group, Russian-flagged ships transported up to nine million rounds of artillery and rocket ammunition from the DPRK to Russia last year. In return, "Russia is believed to have provided North Korea with air defence equipment and anti-aircraft missiles," it said.

Tensions further escalated when French President Emmanuel Macron, during the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, warned that NATO could increase its presence in Asia if China failed to restrain the DPRK's support for Russia.

In response, Pyongyang issued a fiery commentary through KCNA, calling Macron’s remarks “shocking claptrap” and accusing NATO of attempting to militarize the Asia-Pacific region.

The statement emphasized that “it is a mistake if Macron thinks that he can cloak NATO's aggressive and wicked intention to put dirty military shoes on the Asia-Pacific region by taking issue with the DPRK-Russia cooperative relations."