SEOUL, South Korea (AP) 鈥� North Korea has opened a memorial museum for its soldiers killed while fighting for Russia against Ukraine, with top leaders of North Korea and Russia pledging a push for
In April 2025, North Korea and Russia announced that their soldiers fought together to repel a Ukraine incursion into Russia鈥檚 . The two countries haven鈥檛 disclosed exactly how many were deployed, but South Korea鈥檚 intelligence service estimated last year that North Korea sent about 15,000 troops and 2,000 of them were
The North鈥檚 Korean Central 海角社区app Agency reported Monday the museum鈥檚 inaugural ceremony was held in Pyongyang on Sunday to mark the one-year anniversary of the end of an operation to liberate the Kursk region. KCNA said leader Kim Jong Un attended the ceremony along with top visiting Russian officials including Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the State Duma, and Defense Minister Andrei Beloussov.
During the ceremony, Kim threw dirt over the remains of one dead soldier and laid flowers before others whose bodies were already placed in a mortuary, before he and Volodin and Beloussov left messages on the guest book, according to KCNA.
In a speech, Kim said the spirits of dead North Korean soldiers will remain as 鈥渁 symbol of the Korean people鈥檚 heroism鈥� and support 鈥渁 victorious march by the Korean and Russian people.鈥� He praised the North Korean and Russian forces for thwarting what he called a U.S.-led Western 鈥渉egemonic plot and military adventurism鈥� on the Russian-Ukraine front.
Meeting with Beloussov separately, Kim said North Korea will fully support the Russian policy of defending its sovereignty and security interests, KCNA reported. Russia鈥檚 state news agency, Tass, cited Belousov as telling Kim that Russia was ready to sign a Russian-North Korean military cooperation plan for the 2027-2031 period.
In a letter to Kim read by Volodin during the ceremony, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the museum 鈥渨ill undoubtedly be a clear symbol of the friendship and solidarity鈥� between the two countries. Putin said he was convinced that the two countries would continue to strengthen their comprehensive strategic partnership, according to KCNA.
Since Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine, Kim has made Moscow the priority of his foreign policy by supplying troops and conventional weapons. In return, North Korea was believed to have received economic and other assistance from Russia. South Korea, the U.S. and their partners worry Russia may transfer that can enhance North Korea鈥檚 nuclear and missile programs.
Experts say North Korean troops sent to the war earlier became easy targets for drone and artillery attacks due to their lack of combat experience and unfamiliarity with the terrain. But Ukrainian military and intelligence officials have assessed that the and were key to Russia鈥檚 strategy of overwhelming Ukraine by throwing large numbers of soldiers into
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Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung contributed to this report.
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