North Korean troops participated in Russia's Victory Day military parade for the first time in history, displaying a "blood alliance" between the two countries.
According to Russia's TASS news agency and North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Saturday, North Korean soldiers took part in the parade marking the 81st anniversary of Victory Day held the previous day at Red Square in Moscow. KCNA reported that "at Russia's invitation, a combined column of the Korean People's Army's ground, naval and air forces participated in the parade." After the event, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the commander of the North Korean parade unit and expressed his gratitude.
TASS reported that this marked the first time North Korean troops had marched alongside Russian forces at a Victory Day parade. Russia commemorates May 9, 1945 — when the former Soviet Union defeated Nazi Germany in World War II — as Victory Day each year.
North Korea and Russia appeared to showcase their blood alliance through the parade. Lim Eul-chul, a professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University, said, "By participating not with simple infantry but with a 'combined column of ground, naval and air forces,' North Korea has effectively formalized that troop deployment has been carried out at the level of its entire military." He added, "Like the South Korea-U.S. alliance, this shows that North Korea has also built an alliance with Russia, a nuclear power, at a level of automatic intervention in the event of contingency."
North Korea signed the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty with Russia in June 2024 and has been deploying soldiers to Russia since October that year. According to NK News, a U.S.-based outlet specializing in North Korea, as of early this year, approximately 9,500 North Korean troops were stationed in Russia and participating in the war in Ukraine.
Speculation had arisen over a possible visit to Russia by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but only Shin Hong-chul, North Korea's ambassador to Russia, was visible among others in the viewing stand at the parade. Instead, Kim emphasized the alliance in a congratulatory message sent to Putin, saying, "We will always take responsibility for fulfilling the obligations of the treaty between the two states." He particularly expressed closeness by addressing Putin as "the closest comrade" and "dear Vladimir Vladimirovich."
