Kim Jong Un tells Putin he is proud of North Korea-Russia ties as Ukraine accuses missile use
State media reports exchange of letters on Korean Liberation Day, with Kyiv alleging North Korean ballistic missiles killed nine in Ukraine
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, its leader Kim Jong Un delivers a speech during a session of the Supreme People’s Assembly at parliament in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
Photograph: CTV News (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Kim Jong Un told Vladimir Putin in a letter that he was 'proud' of their countries’ strong ties, as reported by North Korean state media on 15 August 2026.
- Russia and North Korea described their relationship as a 'comprehensive strategic partnership', with Putin calling it 'unprecedentedly high'.
- Ukraine accused Russia of launching North Korean ballistic missiles in a strike that killed at least nine people and wounded dozens earlier in August 2026.
- Kyiv claimed up to 50,000 North Korean troops may deploy to Russia, but provided no evidence or timeframe for the deployment.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 1 of the 7 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
82/100
Craft
68/100
Hype
20/100
7 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
None of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told Russian President Vladimir Putin he was 'proud' of the strong ties between their countries, according to state media reports published on 15 August 2026. The exchange of letters coincided with Korea’s Liberation Day, marking the end of Japanese colonial rule in 1945. Kim’s message, carried by the Korean Central News Agency, said he was 'always proud' of the bilateral relationship and expected it to grow under Putin’s leadership.
Putin, in his letter to Kim, described relations between Russia and North Korea as reaching an 'unprecedentedly high level of comprehensive strategic partnership'. He said the two countries were cooperating across all sectors to ensure regional security and stability. The letters followed reports that North Korea had provided military support to Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, including the deployment of troops in exchange for economic benefits and military technology.
Ukraine accused Russia of using North Korean ballistic missiles in a strike earlier in August 2026 that killed at least nine people and wounded dozens. Kyiv also claimed that up to 50,000 North Korean troops were due to deploy to Russia, though it provided no evidence to support the figure or a timeframe for the deployment. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky used the claim to urge South Korea to supply air defence systems, a request that remained unanswered.
What the coverage left out
No left-rated outlet ran this story at all. None of the right-rated digests mentioned the lack of evidence or timeframe for Ukraine’s claim that 50,000 North Korean troops may deploy to Russia. The Straits Times and thairath.co.th did not report Ukraine’s accusation that North Korean ballistic missiles were used in the strike that killed nine people.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 1 time, most recently on 16 Aug 2026, 03:30, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated left has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Centre
3 rated outlets
- The three centre-rated reports, CTV News, Hindustan Times and WTVB, led on the exchange of letters between Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin. All three carried the full text of Kim’s statement that he was 'proud' of the bilateral relationship and his belief that Russia would defend its 'territorial integrity' under Putin’s leadership. They also included Putin’s description of the relationship as a 'comprehensive strategic partnership'.
- CTV News and Hindustan Times, which published full reports, quoted Kim’s letter verbatim: 'I am always proud to be able to expect more excellent future of the bilateral relations by leading, together with you, the DPRK-Russia ties that has carried forward the history of common struggle.' Both outlets also reported Ukraine’s accusation that Russia had used North Korean ballistic missiles in a strike that killed nine people, and Kyiv’s claim of 50,000 North Korean troops potentially deploying to Russia. WTVB’s digest included the same details but did not quote Kim’s letter directly.
Right
3 rated outlets
- The three right-rated digests, from thairath.co.th, The Straits Times and Times of India, led on the reaffirmation of strong ties between Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin. All three mentioned that North Korea had provided military support to Russia in its war against Ukraine. The Straits Times and Times of India included Putin’s description of the relationship as a 'comprehensive strategic partnership'.
- The Times of India’s digest was the only right-rated report to mention Ukraine’s accusation that Russia had used North Korean ballistic missiles in a strike that killed nine people. It also noted Kyiv’s claim of 50,000 North Korean troops potentially deploying to Russia. Thairath.co.th and The Straits Times did not include either detail in their digests.
Read it at the source
7 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Centre
3- North Korea’s Kim tells Putin he is ‘proud’ of strong ties: state media (opens CTV News in a new tab)
- North Korea's Kim tells Putin he is 'proud' of strong ties: state media (opens Hindustan Times in a new tab)
Hindustan Times — is Hindustan Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- North Korea’s Kim, Russia’s Putin reaffirm ties on Korean Liberation Day (opens WTVB in a new tab)
Right
3- Kim Jong-UN and Putin Reaffirmed Their Strong Relationship on Korean Independence Day. (opens thairath.co.th in a new tab)
thairath.co.th — is thairath.co.th biased? Our profile of this outlet
- North Korea’s Kim tells Putin he is ‘proud’ of strong ties: State media (opens The Straits Times in a new tab)
The Straits Times — is The Straits Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- North Korea's Kim tells Putin he is 'proud' of strong ties, state media reports (opens Times of India in a new tab)
Times of India — is Times of India biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
1Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Kim Jong Un tells Putin he is proud of North Korea-Russia ties as…?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 0% are rated left, 50% are rated centre, 50% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 7. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Kim Jong Un tells Putin he is proud of North Korea-Russia ties as… left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Kim Jong Un tells Putin he is proud of North Korea-Russia ties as… biased?
- Kim Jong Un tells Putin he is proud of North Korea-Russia ties as Ukraine accuses missile use is one event reported by 7 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Kim Jong Un tells Putin he is proud of North Korea-Russia ties as…?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Kim Jong Un tells Putin he is proud of North Korea-Russia ties as…?
- 7 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What did Kim Jong Un say to Vladimir Putin in his letter?
- Kim Jong Un told Putin he was 'proud' of their countries’ strong ties and expected the relationship to grow under Putin’s leadership. He also expressed a 'firm belief' that Russia would defend its 'territorial integrity', as reported by North Korean state media on 15 August 2026.
- Did Ukraine provide evidence for its claim about North Korean troops?
- No. Ukraine claimed up to 50,000 North Korean troops may deploy to Russia but provided no evidence to support the figure or a timeframe for the deployment. The claim was reported by CTV News and Hindustan Times on 15 August 2026.
- Which outlets reported Ukraine’s accusation about North Korean missiles?
- CTV News, Hindustan Times and the Times of India reported Ukraine’s accusation that Russia used North Korean ballistic missiles in a strike that killed nine people. The Straits Times and thairath.co.th did not mention the accusation in their digests.
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
More in Conflict & Security
All Conflict & Security →
5 min readLavrov accuses US of intelligence support for Ukraine strikes, vows to destroy Western suppliesRead story
5 min readHezbollah drone strike injures three Israeli soldiers, Israel retaliates in AnsarRead story
5 min readIsraeli airstrikes kill nine in Lebanon, including three childrenRead story