North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said North Korea’s involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war was justified, calling it an exercise of sovereign rights in defence of a “brother nation,” state media KCNA reported on Saturday.

North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un is pushing for an increase in artillery shell production amid the country's support for Russia's conflict in Ukraine. South Korea and Japan have pointed fingers at North Korea for potentially supplying missiles to Russia after a series of rocket tests over the Sea of Japan.

Our participation in the conflict was fair and consistent with the sovereign rights of our Republic,” Kim said, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). He also referred to "the brave soldiers who took part in the Kursk operation" — a vague and historically out-of-context remark that appeared to glorify combatants allied with Russia —