India, Sept. 3 -- In a big message to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked for deploying its army in parts of Russia during the conflict with Ukraine. He also told Kim that it was because of the North Korean military that Russia could "liberate" the Kursk region.

The Kursk region has been a big friction point between Russia and Ukraine, with the latter seizing the region in August last year, forcing over 2,00,000 Russians to leave homes. A few months later, Ukraine reportedly lost 40% of the region it captured.

Back then, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky had said that North Korean troops were taking part in the Russian attacks in Kursk, and about 11,000 North Korean personnel were sent to the reg...