Putin hails ‘heroic’ North Korean troops fighting against Ukraine in letter to Kim Jong-un

Letter marking the anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese rule a sign of increasingly close ties between Russia and North Korea

Russian president Vladimir Putin hailed North Korean troops sent to fight in Ukraine as heroic" in a letter to Kim Jong-un, North Korean state media reported on Friday.

In a letter marking the anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese rule, Putin recalled how Soviet Red Army units and North Korean forces fought together to end Japan's colonial occupation.