Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pose for photos during a signing ceremony for a new partnership in Pyongyang on June 19, 2024. (Kristina Kormilitsyna, Sputnik/Kremlin pool photo via AP)
North Korea’s Kim Jong Un paid tribute to dozens of soldiers who died fighting in Russia’s war with Ukraine according to photos released by the country’s state media, marking the second time the leader has publicly acknowledged the regime’s growing role in the war since its troops first appeared on the battlefield last year.
Kim recognized the fallen soldiers at a ceremony held in Pyongyang, during which he hailed their “indomitable fighting spirit and noble sacrifice” in aiding Russia in its war against Ukraine, the state media outlet Korean Central News Agency said. Kim also honored troops returning from the battlefield, awarding them with state commendations for their “outstanding valor and noble self-sacrificing spirit,” KCNA reported.
In photos of the ceremony, 101 portraits of men whom KCNA identified as “martyrs” were visible.
Thousands of North Korean soldiers have died fighting in the war since they first appeared on the battlefield in Russia’s western region of Kursk in December, according to U.S., Ukrainian and South Korean officials. At the time, Ukrainian soldiers were stunned by how North Korean soldiers moved in large groups and did not attempt to hide from Ukrainian drones, The Washington Post previously reported. Many were easily killed in those initial waves as a result.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has accused Russia of “trying to conceal the losses of the North Koreans,” said in January that as many as 4,000 North Korean troops had been killed or wounded, with only two captured alive.
Since then, North Korean troops appear to have become more organized, well-trained and better equipped on the battlefield, according to materials shared with The Post by Ukrainian soldiers. Notes left on dead North Korean troops show them to be highly motivated, with many choosing to fight to the death or kill themselves with grenades rather than be captured.
During the ceremony in Pyongyang, a somber Kim can be seen in KCNA photos meeting with bereaved family members and embracing crying children. In one photo, Kim can be seen holding the face of a young child with both hands. He also hugged a tearful soldier, placed medals beside the memorials of fallen North Korean soldiers and knelt before their portraits.
Initially, neither country would confirm the presence of North Korean troops in Kursk. But in July, nearly one year after the two countries signed a landmark military treaty, Kim publicly mourned the soldiers who had been killed in the fight, marking the first time the North Korean leader had referred openly to his regime’s role in aiding Russia’s war.
Kim, one of the most vocal backers of President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, could be seen in state media broadcast footage leaning over soldiers’ coffins, appearing to pay tribute to their repatriated remains.
North Korea is believed to have also sent large amounts of munitions, including artillery shells, to Russia.
Kim, who has pledged “full” support of Putin’s “sacred war for regional peace and international justice,” may be preparing to send thousands more troops to aid Russia, South Korea’s intelligence agency said in June.
