North Korea has for the first time confirmed that it sent troops to fight for Russia against Ukraine.

In a report on state news agency KCNA, Pyongyang’s military claimed its soldiers helped Russian forces “completely liberate” the Kursk border region, according to an order given by leader Kim Jong Un.

Pyongyang’s announcement comes just days after Russian Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov praised the “heroism” of North Korean troops, the first time Moscow has publicly acknowledged their involvement.

Western officials had earlier told the BBC they believed at least 1,000 of the 11,000 troops sent from North Korea had been killed over three months.

Gerasimov also claims Moscow regained full control of the country’s western Kursk region – a claim denied by Ukraine.

Responding to the statement, the US said North Korea must now bear responsibility for perpetuating the war.

South Korean and Western intelligence have long reported that Pyongyang dispatched thousands of troops to Kursk last year.

The decision to deploy troops was in accordance with a mutual defense treaty between Pyongyang and Moscow, KCNA said.

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

North Korea and Russia demonstrated their “alliance and brotherhood” in Kursk, adding that a “friendship proven by blood” will greatly contribute to expanding the relationship “in every way”.

It added that North Korea would support the Russian army again.

KCNA did not say what would happen to the North Korean troops after their mission in Kursk ended and whether they would be able to return home.

Reports that North Korean soldiers had been deployed to fight for Russia first emerged in October, following the deepening of bilateral ties between Kim and Putin.

This included the signing of an accord where both Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Kim agreed to support each other if either country was dealing with “aggression”.

Military experts have said that the North Korean troops, reportedly from an “elite” unit called the Storm Corps, are unprepared for the realities of modern warfare.

“These are barely trained troops led by Russian officers who they don’t understand,” former British Army tank commander, Col Hamish de Bretton-Gordon had said earlier this year.

Despite this, Ukraine’s top military commander Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi had earlier also warned that North Korean soldiers were posing a significant problem for Ukrainian fighters on the front line.

“They are numerous. An additional 11,000-12,000 highly motivated and well-prepared soldiers who are conducting offensive actions. They operate based on Soviet tactics. They rely on their numbers,” the general told Ukraine’s TSN Tyzhden news programme.

(BBC News)

US President Donald Trump has said he thinks his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky is willing to give up Crimea to Russia as part of a peace deal – despite Kyiv’s previous rejections of any such proposal.

Asked if he thought the Ukrainian president was ready to cede control of its southern peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, Trump replied: “I think so.”

Trump also urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to “stop shooting, sit down and sign a deal” to end the fighting, suggesting this could be achieved within two weeks.

He made the comments to reporters after returning from the Vatican, where he held a brief meeting with Zelensky before Pope Francis’ funeral.

Trump said that the meeting had “gone well” and that Crimea had been discussed “very briefly”.

He also said that Zelensky now seemed “calmer”, in what could have been a reference to a very public clash between the two presidents at the White House in February.

Ukraine has repeatedly rejected making any territorial concessions, stressing that issues about land should only be discussed once a ceasefire is agreed.

Neither Zelensky nor Russian President Vladimir Putin have publicly responded to Trump’s latest comments.

Earlier on Sunday, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius warned Ukraine not to agree to a deal which involves sweeping territorial concessions in return for a ceasefire.

He told German public broadcaster ARD that Kyiv “should not go as far as the latest proposal by the American president”, which he said would amount to a “capitulation”.

The German minister said that Ukraine knew it might have to part with some territory to secure a truce.

“But they will certainly not go as far – or should not go as far – as the latest proposal by the American president.

“Ukraine could have got a year ago what was included in that proposal, it is akin to a capitulation. I cannot discern any added value,” Pistorius said.

Trump said last week that “most of the major points [of the deal] are agreed to”. Reports suggest that Ukraine could be asked to give up large portions of land seized by Russia, including Crimea.

The BBC has not seen the exact details of the latest US plan.

On Friday, Reuters news agency reported that it had seen proposals from the US that included American legal acceptance of Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and de facto recognition of Russian control of other occupied areas, including all of Luhansk in the east of the country.

Reuters says it has also seen counter-proposals from Europe and Ukraine, which reportedly say the sides will only discuss what happens to occupied Ukrainian territory once a ceasefire has come into effect.

The US plan also rules out Ukraine’s membership in the Nato military alliance and sees a UK-France led “coalition of the willing” providing a security guarantee once a ceasefire is in force without the involvement of the US.

Meanwhile the Europeans want the US to give “robust” guarantees in the form of a cast-iron Nato-style commitment to come to Ukraine’s aid if it is attacked.

The US reportedly further proposes to take control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant – currently occupied by Russia – which would then provide electricity to both Russia and Ukraine. The counter-plan makes no mention of giving Russia power.

In an interview with Time magazine this week, Trump once again blamed Kyiv for starting the war, citing its ambitions of joining Nato.

The US president also told Time: “Crimea will stay with Russia.”

On Sunday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Russia and Ukraine to move forward to secure a peace deal.

“It needs to happen soon,” Rubio told NBC. “We cannot continue to dedicate time and resources to this effort if it’s not going to come to fruition.”

The US has recently warned it would walk away from negotiations if progress was not made.

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Moscow currently controls almost 20% of Ukrainian territory.

(BBC News)

Pope Francis has been buried at Santa Maria Maggiore basilica following his funeral in the Vatican.

In a statement the Vatican says Pope Francis’ coffin has been entombed in the Basilica of St. Mary Major in central Rome. 

“The Pope is the first in over a century to be buried outside the Vatican, and his entombment was a private event, allowing for those closest to him to pay their respects,” the statement adds.Pope Francis “touched minds and hearts” and wanted to “build bridges, not walls”, said Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, who led the funeral service.

Dozens of leaders and dignitaries – including Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky and Prince William – joined an estimated 400,000 mourners who lined the streets of Rome and gathered inside St Peter’s Square itself.

(BBC News)