A ceremony was held in North Korea’s capital of Pyongyang to open a memorial complex and museum dedicated to North Korean servicemen who took part in combat operations against the Ukrainian army, according to the Telegram channel of Russia’s State Duma.
At the ceremony, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivered a speech, saying that North Korean and Russian troops “fought in the same trench, shoulder to shoulder” and achieved successes that, according to him, played a key role in “preventing the revival of fascism and the military ambitions of hegemonic forces.”
From the Russian side, the event was attended by State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin and Defense Minister Andrey Belousov. Volodin read out a greeting from Vladimir Putin, who stated that North Korean servicemen had “shown exceptional courage” and that their exploits would “forever remain in the hearts of every Russian citizen.”
After the ceremony, Volodin and Kim toured the museum and laid flowers at the memorial wall. In the guest book, Volodin wrote that the memorial complex is a “symbol of Russian–Korean combat brotherhood” and thanked North Korea for its assistance in “the liberation of the Kursk Region from Ukrainian neo-Nazis and foreign mercenaries.”
The memorial complex is reportedly dedicated to servicemen of the Korean People’s Army who took part in combat operations in Russia’s Kursk region.
According to NATO, North Korea previously sent around 11,000 troops to Russia to take part in the fighting following Ukraine’s August 2024 incursion into the Kursk region. Around 1,500 North Korean soldiers were killed and another 3,500 wounded. NATO also reported that Pyongyang later dispatched additional units.
In addition to sending troops, North Korea has supplied Russia with weapons and provided military assistance worth billions of dollars. According to an assessment by South Korea’s Institute for National Security Strategy, the total value of such support between 2023 and 2025 ranged from $7.7 billion to $14.6 billion. The report notes that Russia has mainly made payments by transferring military technologies and components. A significant part of the goods going from North Korea to Russia have consisted of ammunition.
