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Hundreds of Russian soldiers wounded in Ukraine are undergoing rehabilitation in North Korean hospitals, Russia’s ambassador in Pyongyang said in an interview published Sunday.
“The treatment, the care, the food — everything related to staying in North Korea was absolutely free,” Ambassador Alexander Matsegora told the government newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta.
“When we offered to compensate our [North Korean] friends for at least part of their expenses, they were genuinely offended and asked us never to do it again,” Matsegora added.
Matsegora also said that orphans of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine were hosted at the Songdowon International Children’s Camp in North Korea last summer. Russian President Vladimir Putin personally thanked “comrade” Kim Jong Un for organizing the children’s stay during his visit to Pyongyang in June.
Russia and North Korea have strengthened military and political ties since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with the two countries adopting a mutual defense pact last year.
Meanwhile, Western, South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence agencies have said Pyongyang deployed more than 10,000 troops to support Russian forces in the southwestern Kursk region, where Ukraine launched a surprise cross-border offensive in August.
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