MOSCOW (Kyodo) — North Korea held an opening ceremony in Pyongyang on Sunday for a memorial museum dedicated to troops dispatched to aid Moscow in its war against Ukraine, with leader Kim Jong Un and senior Russian officials attending, Russia’s Tass news agency said.
Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the State Duma, or lower house of parliament, and Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov were among those attending the ceremony marking the first anniversary since Moscow announced its recapture of the Kursk region after Ukrainian forces made incursions into western Russia.
North Korea has sent thousands of troops to Russia under a bilateral comprehensive partnership treaty signed in 2024 that promised mutual assistance in case of aggression against either country. Pyongyang has neither made public the number of troops deployed in the Ukraine war, nor how many casualties it has suffered.
Kim was quoted by Tass as saying during the ceremony, “The North Korean and Russian armed forces fought side by side in the trenches in the name of peace and sovereignty, achieving military successes that were crucial in preventing the resurgence of Nazism and the military ambitions of hegemonic powers.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his gratitude to the fallen North Korean soldiers in a message sent to the event, saying, “Their unparalleled feats will forever remain in the hearts of every Russian citizen,” according to the news agency.
Belousov awarded Orders of Courage to servicemen of the Korean People’s Army who “demonstrated valor and heroism” during the operation to recapture the Kursk region, Tass said.
Kim separately held talks with Volodin and Belousov. The Russian defense minister said Moscow is prepared to sign a bilateral military cooperation plan this year for the 2027-2031 period to place collaboration on “a sustainable, long-term footing,” the report said.
North Korea and Russia have been bolstering military cooperation since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Kim inspected the Memorial Museum of Combat Feats at the Overseas Military Operations several times before its completion.
==Kyodo
