Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for sending North Korean troops in support of Moscow's military offensive in Ukraine.

In a statement posted on the Kremlin website on Monday, Putin said the North Korean soldiers played an active role in repelling the Ukrainian military that had invaded Russian territory.

Putin said Moscow highly appreciates it and is sincerely grateful, personally to regime leader Kim, as well as to the entire leadership and the people of North Korea.

The Russian leader said his country will always honor the Korean heroes who gave their lives for Russia, the common freedom, on an equal basis with their Russian brothers in arms.

Putin also claimed that the North Korean troop deployment in the war against Ukraine does not go against the international law, citing Pyongyang and Moscow's signing of a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty last June.

Earlier, the North, through the state media, confirmed the deployment for the first time since sending more than ten-thousand soldiers to Russia last October.