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North's leader opens memorial museum for soldiers killed fighting for Russia

Published: 27 Apr. 2026, 16:27

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks during the opening ceremony of a memorial museum for North Korean troops killed fighting in Russia in Pyongyang on April 26. [YONHAP]

Kim Jong-un opened a memorial museum in Pyongyang on Sunday for North Korean troops killed fighting in Kursk, openly celebrating its military partnership with Russia.

The inauguration of the Memorial Museum of Combat Feats at Overseas Military Operations marks the first anniversary of what North Korea and Russia have declared a victory in the Kursk operation in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war.

Russia declared on April 26 of last year that it had fully recaptured the Kursk, a contested region in the country's southwest, from Ukrainian forces.

Between 11,000 and 15,000 North Korean soldiers have reportedly been deployed to support Russia in the war against Ukraine.

The museum's opening was attended by Kim, Russian State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin and Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Monday. Also present were Supreme People's Assembly Standing Committee chairman Jo Yong-won, Korean Workers' Party munitions industry department director Jo Chun-ryong and Defense Minister No Kwang-chol, alongside troops and families of the overseas operations unit and members of the Russian delegation and embassy in Pyongyang.

The event included a ceremony to inter the remains of fallen soldiers and a rifle salute was fired to honor the veterans.

Openly highlighting the legitimacy of North Korea and Russia's partnership and emphasizing its accomplishments, the tone behind the recent ceremony is a sharp turn from North Korea's previous stance, which avoided reference to the troop deployment due to concerns over international sanctions and potential domestic unrest.

Experts say the countries' burgeoning relationship is not unrelated to the fact that Russia — a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council — has engaged in illegal arms trade with North Korea, effectively undermining international sanctions. Pyongyang's decision to name a memorial for its troops deployed for "overseas military operations" also suggests it intends to go beyond a one-off deployment and continue sending engineering and combat troops to Russia, reinforcing what it sees as a "blood alliance."

Kim Jong-un, center, attends the opening ceremony of a memorial museum for North Korean troops killed fighting in Russia in Pyongyang on April 26. [YONHAP]

In his inauguration address on Sunday, Kim struck a defiant tone.

"He referred to the strategic significance of the operations for liberating Kursk, in which the armies of the DPRK and Russia faithful to the ideal of justice fought shoulder to shoulder in the same trench for peace and sovereignty, and to the unrivaled bravery, mass heroism, indomitable fighting spirit and noble sacrifice displayed by the DPRK people's excellent sons in the bloody battles to set a model of the militant fraternity," KCNA reported, referring to the North by the initialism for its official name.

Highlighting such achievements is seen not only as an effort to strengthen internal unity but also as a way of emphasizing “leverage” to sustain close ties with Russia.

"There is also an aspect of emphasizing that the advanced technological and economic support to be received from Russia in the future is not a favor but a just reward," said Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies.

Experts also see Kim's emphasis on "militant fraternity" as a reference to the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty signed with Russian President Vladimir Putin at their June 2024 summit, establishing a mutual defense pact requiring immediate military assistance if either nation is attacked.

Kim also met with Defense Minister Belousov, who had traveled to Pyongyang for the ceremony, on Sunday to discuss expanding military cooperation with Russia.

Belousov reportedly told Kim that Moscow was ready to conclude a mutual military cooperation plan covering the period from 2027 to 2031, the Russian state news agency TASS reported.

The five-year military cooperation plan, if signed, would mark a long-term effort to institutionalize specific exchanges and cooperation, following a new treaty that has effectively elevated North Korea–Russia ties to the level of a military alliance.

The KCNA report did not contain any related remarks.

"North Korea and Russia are evolving beyond a transaction of convenience into a long-term blood alliance that shares the fate of each other's systems," Prof. Lim said. "The discussion of a five-year military cooperation plan suggests that even after the war ends, the two countries may be entering a stage of institutional alliance — maintaining comprehensive political, military and economic cooperation."

Kim Jong-un, right, attends the opening ceremony of a memorial museum for North Korean troops killed fighting in Russia in Pyongyang on April 26. [YONHAP]

During Sunday's ceremony, Putin also extended his congratulations through a letter read out at the ceremony by Volodin.

He "expressed his sincere gratitude and high respect to those involved in the Kursk liberation operations and the fallen heroes, saying that the unprecedented feats the KPA service personnel performed by displaying their outstanding bravery and genuine spirit of self-sacrifice while fighting shoulder to shoulder with their Russian comrades-in-arms, will remain forever in the hearts of all the Russian citizens," according to the KCNA.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHUNG YEONG-GYO [[email protected]]