Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked Kim Jong-un on Wednesday for North Korean soldiers' courageous fighting against Ukrainian forces.
"At your initiative, as is well known, your special forces participated in the liberation of the Kursk region," Putin told Kim at a meeting in China.
"Your soldiers fought courageously and heroically."
North Korean troops helped Russia earlier this year eject Ukrainian forces from Russia's western region of Kursk.
"I would like to note that we will never forget the sacrifices that your armed forces and the families of your servicemen have suffered," Putin said.
"On behalf of the Russian people, I would like to thank you for your participation in the joint fight," Putin said.
"I ask you to convey my warmest words of gratitude to all the people of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."
Thousands of soldiers
Earlier in mid-August, Putin sent a letter to Kim, hailing North Korean soldiers for their fighting against Ukraine.
Marking the anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese rule, Putin recalled in the letter how Soviet Red Army units and North Korean forces fought together to end Japan's colonial occupation.
Russia and North Korea have been forging increasingly closer ties, with the two countries signing a mutual defence pact last year, when Putin visited the reclusive state.
In April, North Korea confirmed for the first time that it had deployed a contingent of its soldiers to the front line against Ukraine, alongside Russian troops.
South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have said Pyongyang sent more than 10,000 soldiers to Russia's Kursk region in 2024, along with artillery shells, missiles and long-range rocket systems.
Around 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed and thousands more wounded fighting for Russia, Seoul has said.
