North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has awarded medals to his returning and fallen troops, who fought for Russia in the war against Ukraine, as he held an emotional meeting with the families of soldiers killed on the battlefield, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
“The combat activities of overseas operational forces … proved without regret the power of the heroic [North Korean] army,” and that the “liberation of Kursk” proved the “fighting spirit of the heroes”, KCNA reported on Friday, quoting Kim.
“Our army is now doing what it ought to do and what needs to be done. It will do so in the future, too,” Kim said, according to KCNA.
He also laid a flower at a memorial wall for North Korean soldiers killed overseas, and a concert was held for soldiers who returned from serving in Russia, as well as a banquet that included bereaved family members of slain troops, KCNA said.
Photos published by the news agency showed the North Korean leader hugging visibly emotional family members of fallen soldiers.
South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have said Pyongyang sent more than 10,000 soldiers to Russia’s Kursk region in 2024, along with artillery shells, missiles and long-range rocket systems to be used by Russia against Ukraine.
About 600 of those North Korean soldiers were killed and thousands were wounded fighting for Russia, according to Seoul’s intelligence estimates.
Kim’s remarks come as United States President Donald Trump ramps up so-far fruitless attempts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, having held high-profile talks with the leaders of both countries in recent days.
But Russian President Vladimir Putin, who last week hailed the North Korean troops as “heroic”, has up to now avoided meeting his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy for peace talks, and Russian attacks on Ukraine have escalated as Moscow’s troops make strong gains on the front lines of the war.
Russia and North Korea have been forging increasingly close ties, including signing a mutual defence pact last year when Putin visited the reclusive state.
