SEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov have opened a memorial museum in Pyongyang for North Korean soldiers killed while fighting for Russia against Ukraine. The North’s Korean Central News Agency reported that the museum’s inaugural ceremony was held on Sunday to mark the one-year anniversary of the end of an operation to liberate the Kursk region. Speaker of Russia’s parliament Vyacheslav Volodin, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, also attended the event. In April 2025, North Korea and Russia announced that their soldiers fought together to repel a Ukraine incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region. The two countries haven’t disclosed exactly how many North Koreans soldiers were deployed, but South Korea’s intelligence service estimated last year that North Korea sent about 15,000 troops and 2,000 of them were killed. In return for providing soliders, it is believed North Korea has received food, money and technical helpUkraine launched a surprise incursion in Kursk in August 2024. Russia said it regained full control of the region a year later. In a speech at the ceremony, Kim said the spirits of dead North Korean soldiers will remain as “a symbol of the Korean people’s heroism” and support “a victorious march by the Korean and Russian people.” He praised the North Korean and Russian forces for thwarting what he called a US-led Western “hegemonic plot and military adventurism” on the Russian-Ukraine front. Meeting with Beloussov separately, Kim said North Korea “will as ever fully support the policy of the Russian Federation to defend the national sovereignty, territorial integrity and security interests”, according to KCNA. Russia will “surely win a victory in the just sacred war”, Kim said. Russia’s 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. Belousov said he discussed long-term military co-operation with North Korean officials, according to Russian news agencies. In June 2024, Putin and Kim signed a deal pledging that Russia and North Korea will help each other in the event of “aggression” against either country. At the time, Kim hailed the treaty as the “strongest ever”. Apart from soldiers, North Korea also promised to send thousands of workers to help rebuild Kursk. — AgenciesSEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov have opened a memorial museum in Pyongyang for North Korean soldiers killed while fighting for Russia against Ukraine. The North’s Korean Central News Agency reported that the museum’s inaugural ceremony was held on Sunday to mark the one-year anniversary of the end of an operation to liberate the Kursk region. Speaker of Russia’s parliament Vyacheslav Volodin, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, also attended the event. In April 2025, North Korea and Russia announced that their soldiers fought together to repel a Ukraine incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region. The two countries haven’t disclosed exactly how many North Koreans soldiers were deployed, but South Korea’s intelligence service estimated last year that North Korea sent about 15,000 troops and 2,000 of them were killed. In return for providing soliders, it is believed North Korea has received food, money and technical helpUkraine launched a surprise incursion in Kursk in August 2024. Russia said it regained full control of the region a year later. In a speech at the ceremony, Kim said the spirits of dead North Korean soldiers will remain as “a symbol of the Korean people’s heroism” and support “a victorious march by the Korean and Russian people.” He praised the North Korean and Russian forces for thwarting what he called a US-led Western “hegemonic plot and military adventurism” on the Russian-Ukraine front. Meeting with Beloussov separately, Kim said North Korea “will as ever fully support the policy of the Russian Federation to defend the national sovereignty, territorial integrity and security interests”, according to KCNA. Russia will “surely win a victory in the just sacred war”, Kim said. Russia’s 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. Belousov said he discussed long-term military co-operation with North Korean officials, according to Russian news agencies. In June 2024, Putin and Kim signed a deal pledging that Russia and North Korea will help each other in the event of “aggression” against either country. At the time, Kim hailed the treaty as the “strongest ever”. Apart from soldiers, North Korea also promised to send thousands of workers to help rebuild Kursk. — Agencies
