During the VE Day parade held on 9 May in Moscow, five senior North Korean military figures connected to Russia’s war in Ukraine were seen greeting Russian President Vladimir Putin. Korea Defense Blog on BlueSky identified the generals as part of a delegation representing the Korean People’s Army (KPA) leadership and that their roles were directly tied to the deployment of North Korean troops in support of Russia, Militarnyi reported.

In total, five North Korean generals were identified who were associated with both the intelligence and the North Korean General Staff. North Korean involvement had been officially denied for six months, but the appearance of the generals on Red Square offers clear validation.

According to the blog post dated 10 May, the first to salute and shake hands with Putin was Colonel General Kim Yong-bok, deputy chief of the KPA General Staff and commander of the XI Storm Corps, described as North Korea’s main special operations force providing most troops for the war effort in Ukraine.

1) First to salute & shake hands with Putin was Deputy Chief of the General Staff ColGen (NATO OF-8, 3-star LtGen) Kim Yong-bok. Notably, he also commands the XI Storm Corps, the KPA's main SOF unit which provides most of the troops deployed in support of Russia's war.

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— Korea Defense Blog (@koreadefenseblog.bsky.social) May 10, 2025 at 9:13 AM

Next was Colonel General Ri Chang-ho, director of the Reconnaissance General Bureau, which oversees military intelligence and whose units are reportedly embedded with deployed KPA battalions in Russia.

The third figure was identified only as a lieutenant general heading an unnamed department within the Ministry of Defense, although his name was not mentioned.

North Korea acknowledges participation of its military in Russia’s war against Ukraine

The fourth was reportedly the commander of Unit 525, associated with the Main Operational Directorate and the 525th Special Warfare Battalion. Although his full name was unclear, his surname is Kim.

The fifth was Major General Shin Geum-cheol, head of the General Staff’s operations bureau, who, according to Ukrainian intelligence, commands the overall KPA deployment to Russia.

Yonhap confirms diplomatic context

Yonhap News reported on 9 May that Putin met the North Korean delegation at the end of the Red Square ceremony. Among those named were Kim Yong-bok and Sin Hong-chol, North Korea’s ambassador to Russia. The Russian president also greeted Ri Chang-ho and Shin Kum-chol. Kim, Ri and Sin have been sanctioned by the US, South Korea, and the EU over their alleged roles in North Korea’s military support to Russia.