The occasion was marked as the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazism in World War II and the liberation of North Korea from Japanese occupation, as noted by the Russian Defense Ministry.
"Russia is anticipating a favorable response to the invitation to send North Korean armed forces units to Moscow to participate in the military parade on Red Square on May 9," the statement said.
The North Korean state news agency KCNA, quoted by BBC, reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, during a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, stated that the U.S. and the West had struck Russian territory with long-range weapons via Ukraine, labeling it "direct military intervention" and approving a potential retaliatory strike as "an effective measure that will inform the U.S., the West, and Ukraine of the seriousness of the situation and Russia's determination for strong countermeasures."
BBC noted that KCNA did not specify either the American ATACMS missiles used by Ukraine to attack the Kursk region of Russia or the experimental ballistic missile "Oreshnik," which the aggressor used to strike Dnipro. They also did not mention the North Korean military personnel sent to Russia.