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North Korea's Kim vows to win anti-U.S. battles during Korean War anniversary

Published: 27 Jul. 2025, 14:28

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attends a meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister in Wonsan, Kangwon Province, on July 12. [AFP/YONHAP]

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said the country would achieve victory in "anti-imperialist, anti-U.S." battles, as the country marked the anniversary of the Korean War armistice, state media reported on Sunday.

Kim "affirmed that our state and its people would surely achieve the great cause of building a rich country with a strong army and become honorable victors in the anti-imperialist, anti-U.S. showdown," the KCNA state news agency said, referring to his visit to a war museum on the previous day.

North Korea signed an armistice agreement with the United States and China on July 27, 1953, effectively bringing an end to three years of combat. U.S. generals signed the agreement representing the United Nations forces that backed South Korea.

North Korea calls July 27 "Victory Day" even though the armistice drew a border roughly dividing the Korean Peninsula in half and marked no significant territorial gains since the start of the conflict. An estimated 2.5 million lives were lost as both sides made major advances back and forth during the war.

South Korea does not commemorate the day with any major events.

North Korea is now fighting alongside Russia in its war with Ukraine. Thousands of North Korean troops were deployed to Russia's Kursk region, and Pyongyang has also supplied Russia with munitions. It may deploy more troops in July or August, according to South Korea.

To celebrate the anniversary, Kim also met with an artillery regiment and visited memorials honoring veterans of the 1950-53 war, such as the Tower of Friendship, which remembers the Chinese soldiers of the People's Liberation Army who fought alongside the North Koreans, state media KCNA said.

Reuters