Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday thanked North Korea's Kim Jong Un for helping Russia oust Ukrainian soldiers from the Kursk region, saying they fought "heroically".

In a meeting with Kim in Beijing, Putin also praised their countries' "trust and friendship" and said that sending the troops was the North Korean leader's idea.

North Korea has become one of Russia's main allies since it invaded Ukraine three-and-a-half years ago, sending thousands of troops and container loads of weapons to help the Kremlin push Ukrainian forces out of western Russia, following Kyiv's shock incursion last year.

"On your initiative, as is well known, your special forces took part in the liberation of the Kursk region," Putin said in a meeting with his North Korean counterpart.

"This was in fu

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