Seoul [South Korea], April 27 (ANI): Russia has, for the first time since the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv began, admitted that North Korean troops took part in its war against Ukraine, state media outlets in both Russia and South Korea reported.

Russia's Chief of General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, noted on Saturday in a video conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin that North Korean troops had played a crucial role in the liberation of the Kursk border region, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap. "I want to point out the participation of servicemen from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the liberation of the Kursk Region's border areas, who, in accordance with the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between our countries, provided significant assistance in defeating the invading group of the Ukrainian armed forces," Gerasimov said in a transcript of the videoconference posted on the website of the Kremlin.

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Putin has claimed that his country has regained control of Kursk, the border region where Ukraine launched a surprise offensive last year.

According to Putin, the complete defeat of the enemy in the Kursk border area creates conditions for further successful actions of the Russian troops in other important areas of the front and "brings closer the defeat of the neo-Nazi regime."

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The Russian president congratulated and thanked the servicemen of the military units that took part in the liberation of the region, as per state media TASS.

Russia's acknowledgement of North Korean troops comes almost a year after the US, South Korea, UK, and Ukraine stated that North Korean troops were seen at the frontlines of the war.

However, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said in a Telegram post that Putin's claim about the end of hostilities in Kursk was "not true."

"The defensive operation of the Ukrainian Defence Forces in the designated areas in Kursk region continues. The operational situation is difficult, but our units continue to hold their positions and perform their assigned tasks," the Telegram post said as per a report in the CNN.

The report by the US news outlet said that Ukraine launched its shock incursion into Kursk in August, swiftly capturing territory in what was the first ground invasion of Russia by a foreign power since World War II.

Meanwhile, there was a brief meeting on Saturday morning between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump at the funeral of the late Pope Francis in the Vatican.

A White House spokesperson described the meeting as "productive," while Zelenskyy thanked Trump for the meeting, writing on X that it "has the potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results."

Later on Saturday, Trumo raised the prospect of applying new sanctions on Russia for launching a deadly wave of attacks on Kyiv last week.

"There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. (ANI)

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