He highlighted the unbreakable alliance between his nation and Russia.

In his New Year’s address, President Kim Jong Un congratulated over 10,000 North Korean soldiers who are taking part in Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.

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“While the entire country is wrapped in a festive atmosphere to welcome the New Year, I miss even more those who, at this very moment, are bravely fighting on the battlefields of foreign lands, faithful to the orders of their homeland,” he said.

Without directly mentioning Ukraine, Kim anticipated “remarkable feats” by North Korean soldiers on battlefields abroad in the year that has just begun.

At a large ceremony at Pyongyang’s May Day Stadium, Kim also highlighted the strengthening of the “friendship and unbreakable alliance” between North Korea and Russia.

Russia and North Korea Forge a New Defense Pact Amid Growing Tensions with the West https://t.co/wezRjocTJ1 pic.twitter.com/CvED4377se

— 247DailyInfo (@247DailyInfo) January 1, 2026

The overseas deployment of North Korean forces is framed within the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement signed by Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin in June 2024, which includes a mutual defense commitment in the event of aggression.

Kim also appealed to the patriotism of citizens ahead of the ruling Workers’ Party’s 9th Congress, which local media expect to be held in January or February. The congress is expected to define the country’s five-year military, diplomatic and economic strategy.

Attention is now focused on whether Pyongyang will formally declare its position of considering South Korea a “hostile state,” in line with statements made by Kim in late 2023. In June Pyongyang said that the upcoming congress would mark a “turning point” in national and party development.

#FromTheSouth News Bits | Russia launched the first series production of mobile operators and internet-based stations. pic.twitter.com/W5n4Nwg4at

— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) December 31, 2025

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Source: EFE

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