ISTANBUL 

North Korea confirmed Monday for the first time that it sent troops to Russia to support Moscow’s war against Ukraine under a mutual defense treaty, the country’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un authorized the deployment of armed forces to Russia’s Kursk region, citing the need to uphold treaty commitments, according to a statement by the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea.

The commission said the move was based on an assessment by Kim that the situation met the conditions of Article 4 of the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Moscow and Pyongyang. The article obliges mutual military support if either party is attacked by an external force.

It said military activities by North Korean troops in Russia "fully conform to all the provisions and the spirit of the UN Charter and other international laws."

On Saturday, the Kremlin announced that Russian forces had driven out Ukrainian troops from Kursk. Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov thanked North Korean soldiers who "fought shoulder to shoulder" with Russian servicemen.

Gerasimov stressed that North Korean forces operated strictly within Russian territory under the bilateral agreement, which allows Russia to call on North Korean troops for the defense of its land.

South Korea strongly condemned North Korea's admission, Yonhap News Agency reported.

"With their public admission of the deployment, while claiming they are fully in accordance with international law, they are once again mocking the international community. We strongly condemn this action," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Seoul urged Russia and North Korea to "immediately cease their unlawful military cooperation," stressing that it "seriously undermines peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond, including Europe."

*Writing by Aamir Latif