North Korean state media on Friday, August 22, released images of leader Kim Jong Un commemorating soldiers who died while fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine.
The photographs showed Kim kneeling before portraits of fallen troops, placing medals and flowers in their honour, and embracing a grieving soldier during a ceremony in Pyongyang. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) described the men as “heroes” who gave their youth and lives for the cause.
Kim also addressed the gathering, praising those who returned from the battlefield in Russia’s Kursk region for enduring “the hail of bullets and bombs of the life-and-death war in a foreign country.” Several commanding officers were decorated with the title of “DPRK Hero” for their roles in overseas combat operations.
South Korean and Western intelligence agencies estimate that North Korea deployed more than 10,000 troops to Russia in 2024, in addition to supplying artillery shells, rockets, and missiles. Seoul believes around 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed and thousands more wounded.
At the ceremony, Kim also met bereaved families to share “the pain of loss,” as portraits of the deceased were displayed at the Workers’ Party headquarters. North Korea had only publicly confirmed in April that its forces were operating in Ukraine and had sustained casualties.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently praised North Korean fighters as “heroic” in a letter to Kim, while Washington has accused Moscow of rewarding Pyongyang with advanced satellite and space technology. Analysts point out that satellite launch systems and intercontinental ballistic missile development share similar engineering.
Meanwhile, international efforts to end the conflict remain stalled, with U.S. President Donald Trump continuing high-level talks with Russian and Ukrainian leaders but achieving little tangible progress.
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