North Korea Begins Construction of Memorial to soldiers Killed Fighting in ukraine
PYONGYANG, North Korea – North Korea has begun building a memorial dedicated to its soldiers killed while fighting alongside Russian forces in ukraine, signaling a deepening military partnership between the two nations. The groundbreaking ceremony, held Thursday and reported by state news agency KCNA, comes as North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, publicly celebrates the role his troops played in helping Russia achieve a “decisive victory.”
The memorial, planned for construction in russia, will feature sculptures, photographs, and artwork commemorating the North Korean soldiers who have fought in Russia’s Kursk region for the past year. Kim Jong-un stated that the soldiers “destroyed the fiendish neo-Nazi invaders with their staunch spirit not to tolerate any aggression but to annihilate the aggressors,” according to KCNA. At least 600 North Korean soldiers are estimated to have been killed and thousands more wounded in the conflict, according to South Korean estimates.
This progress underscores a growing military alliance formalized last year with a strategic partnership agreement obligating both countries to provide “military and other assistance” if either is attacked. The partnership has seen North Korea supply Russia with thousands of soldiers and “container loads of weapons” to aid in pushing Ukrainian forces out of western russia, according to reports.
The ceremony was attended by Russian Ambassador to North Korea, Aleksandr Matsegora, and other embassy officials, alongside North Korean government and military leaders, and families of deceased soldiers. Simultaneously, an art exhibition celebrating the ties between Russia and North Korea is being held in Moscow, depicting joint resistance against a “hostile West.” Kim Jong-un has declared the relationship between North Korea and Russia is “now rising to its historic peak.”
