SEOUL – North Korea has begun constructing a memorial for its soldiers killed fighting in Russia’s war with Ukraine, state media reported, as leader Kim Jong Un hailed a “historic peak” in ties with Moscow.
The so-called Memorial Museum of Combat Feats will be built in the capital Pyongyang, where Kim and Russia’s ambassador to North Korea attended a groundbreaking ceremony, according to the Korean Central News Agency.
Kim, addressing Thursday’s event, said the museum “is a sacred sanctuary dedicated to the immortality of true patriots.”
North Korea, one of the world’s most insular nations, has become a key Russian ally since Moscow invaded Ukraine in Feb. 2022.
It has sent thousands of soldiers and container loads of weapons to help the Kremlin push Ukrainian forces out of western Russia.
At least 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed and thousands more wounded, according to estimates from South Korea. AFP
In patriotic remarks carried by KCNA, Kim said his country’s troops have been in Russia’s Kursk region for one year and he praised them for helping Russia achieve a “decisive victory.”
“Our heroes destroyed the fiendish neo-Nazi invaders with their staunch spirit not to tolerate any aggression but to annihilate the aggressors,” Kim said.
He added that North Korea and Russia’s relationship was “now rising to its historic peak.” AFP
