Seoul (AFP) — North Korea confirmed for the first time on Monday it had deployed troops to Russia, with state news agency KCNA reporting Pyongyang’s soldiers helped Moscow reclaim territory under Ukrainian control in the Russian border region of Kursk.

The admission comes just days after Moscow confirmed the North’s participation, while Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday heralded the “feat” of Pyongyang’s troops.

South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have long reported that Pyongyang sent more than 10,000 soldiers to help in Kursk last year.

North Korean forces “participated in the operations for liberating the Kursk areas, Pyongyang’s Central Military Commission said in the KCNA report.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s decision to deploy the troops, it said, was in accordance with a mutual defense treaty.

“They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honor of the motherland,” Kim said according to KCNA.

Kim added that a monument to the “battle feats” would soon be built in the capital, and referred to “the tombstones of the fallen soldiers,” publicly confirming that North Korean troops had been killed in combat.

The country must “take important national measures to specially honor and care for the families of war veterans,” Kim said.

According to the Central Military Commission, “the operations for liberating the Kursk area to repel the adventurous invasion of the Russian Federation by the Ukrainian authorities were victoriously concluded.”