{"id":45937,"date":"2026-04-27T10:38:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T10:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/45937\/"},"modified":"2026-04-27T10:38:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T10:38:09","slug":"putin-hails-brave-north-korean-troops-as-kim-opens-memorial-for-those-killed-in-ukraine-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/45937\/","title":{"rendered":"Putin hails \u2018brave\u2019 North Korean troops, as Kim opens memorial for those killed in Ukraine war"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Balloons fly as soldiers stand in position next to memorial stones during the opening ceremony of the Memorial Museum of Combat Feats at the Overseas Military Operations honouring North Korean troops killed while fighting for Russia in the war against Ukraine, in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Sunday.Korean Central News Agency\/via REUTERS<\/p>\n

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent thanks to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for his support of Moscow\u2019s war against Ukraine, as Pyongyang inaugurated a new museum dedicated to soldiers killed in overseas combat missions. <\/p>\n

In a letter to Mr. Kim, published<\/a> by North Korean state media Monday, Mr. Putin said when Ukrainian forces invaded and briefly seized parts of the Kursk region in mid-2024, in the first foreign incursion into Russia since the Second World War<\/a>, \u201cPyongyang helped us resolutely without hesitation.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Korean soldiers, fighting shoulder to shoulder with the Russian comrades-in-arms, displayed their extraordinary bravery and genuine devotion and glorified themselves with immortal honour,\u201d he wrote. \u201cTheir unrivalled feats will remain forever in the hearts of all Russian citizens.\u201d <\/p>\n

On Sunday evening, a concert titled \u201cStars of the Motherland\u201d was held for \u201cthe martyrs, the laudable sons of the glorious Democratic People\u2019s Republic of Korea\u201d at the new Memorial Museum of Combat Feats at the Overseas Military Operations, according to the state run Voice of Korea<\/a>, using the country\u2019s official name. <\/p>\n

Mr. Kim earlier oversaw a ceremony opening the museum and commemorating the \u201cfirst anniversary of the conclusion of the operation to liberate Kursk,\u201d accompanied by Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov, and Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the Russian Duma. <\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks with Russia’s Defence Minister Andrei Belousov and Russia’s State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin.KCNA\/via REUTERS<\/p>\n

Both Moscow and Pyongyang initially fiercely denied reports that North Korean troops were helping with Russia\u2019s war effort, but this became harder to do as photos and video of North Korean soldiers in action spread online, and eventually Ukraine captured<\/a> several North Koreans, who are still being held<\/a> as prisoners of war. <\/p>\n

In April, 2025, eight months after Ukraine\u2019s initial incursion, North Korea confirmed it had sent troops to \u201cannihilate and wipe out the Ukrainian neo-Nazi occupiers and liberate the Kursk area in co-operation with the Russian armed forces.\u201d<\/p>\n

South Korean intelligence agencies estimate some 15,000 soldiers were sent to Russia, of whom about 2,000 have died. While Ukrainian soldiers have said<\/a> their North Korean opponents appear to be well-trained, possibly even special forces, there have been numerous reports<\/a> of communications problems with their Russian allies and a lack of experience<\/a> in frontline combat leading to high casualties. <\/p>\n

North Korea confirms it sent troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine<\/a><\/p>\n

In a speech Sunday, Mr. Kim said the spirits of dead North Korean soldiers will remain as \u201ca symbol of the Korean people\u2019s heroism\u201d and support \u201ca victorious march by the Korean and Russian people.\u201d He praised the North Korean and Russian forces for thwarting what he called a U.S.-led Western \u201chegemonic plot and military adventurism\u201d on the Russia-Ukraine front.<\/p>\n

Beyond troops, North Korea has also provided much needed artillery shells and ballistic missiles for Russia\u2019s war effort. In return, Moscow has provided vital economic support, including tourism, food and millions of barrels of oil<\/a>, as well as advanced weapons technology and expertise, as Pyongyang seeks to upgrade its military capabilities<\/a>. <\/p>\n

This includes new nuclear-powered submarines, the first photos of which were published by state media in December<\/a>. While Pyongyang has been more than capable of building advanced weapons despite stringent international sanctions, this latest achievement would likely not be possible without Russian assistance, Peter Roberts, a defence expert at the University of Exeter, told British lawmakers in February<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during the opening ceremony of the Memorial Museum of Combat Feats in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Sunday.KCNA\/via REUTERS<\/p>\n

\u201cPreviously, nuclear submarine operating knowledge was something you never shared,\u201d Prof. Roberts said. \u201cIt was kept within a strictly confined group of people. These were the crown jewels of military knowledge.\u201d <\/p>\n

In March, Mr. Kim said North Korea\u2019s status as a nuclear power was irreversible, and pledged to expand Pyongyang\u2019s \u201cself-defensive nuclear deterrent.\u201d The International Atomic Energy Agency recently warned<\/a> North Korea is rapidly increasing production of enriched uranium, including at the Yongbyon nuclear site, which was supposed to be decommissioned after talks between Mr. Kim, U.S. President Donald Trump and then-South Korean President Moon Jae-in. <\/p>\n

Those talks were the closest all sides ever got to a peace treaty officially ending the Korean War, which has remained a frozen conflict since 1953, and to the relative normalization of North Korea, something Pyongyang has long sought but the U.S. and other Western powers have said is impossible while Mr. Kim retains his nuclear arsenal. <\/p>\n

North Korea\u2019s Kim Jong Un promises \u2018beautiful life\u2019 for families of troops killed in Russia<\/a><\/p>\n

Decades of sanctions have done little to rein in either North Korea\u2019s nuclear program or its vast military however, both of which are only growing stronger<\/a> with Russian and Chinese support<\/a>. <\/p>\n

In an essay this month<\/a>, Jung Pak, a former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific, said \u201cNorth Korea today is ascendant in ways not even the most imaginative analyst could have predicted.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cKim, whose grip on power has never been stronger, has transformed himself from a global pariah into a global power player in record time,\u201d she wrote. \u201cIn the past, Washington has been able to work with Beijing and Moscow, albeit to a limited extent, to restrain North Korea and prevent a military confrontation. But today, the North Korea challenge is both more formidable and more durable.\u201d <\/p>\n

With reports from The Associated Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Balloons fly as soldiers stand in position next to memorial stones during the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":45938,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[131],"tags":[1977,1963,1978,367,1955,1979,1976,1954,1969,1970,1966,1956,1953,1579,1846,1974,1968,1962,1990,1957,1958,383,1964,1965,1960,1980,1961,1985,1986,1988,1983,1987,1981,1984,1959,1972,1973,51,1971,1982,1134,584,1975,1967,48,328,52,1989],"class_list":{"0":"post-45937","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-vladimir-putin","8":"tag-alberta","9":"tag-arts-news","10":"tag-bc","11":"tag-breaking-news","12":"tag-breaking-news-video","13":"tag-british-columbia","14":"tag-canada","15":"tag-canada-news","16":"tag-canada-sports","17":"tag-canada-sports-news","18":"tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","19":"tag-canadian-breaking-news","20":"tag-canadian-news","21":"tag-economy","22":"tag-education","23":"tag-environment","24":"tag-federal-government","25":"tag-foreign-news","26":"tag-globe-and-mail","27":"tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","28":"tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","29":"tag-government","30":"tag-life-news","31":"tag-lifestyle","32":"tag-local-news","33":"tag-manitoba","34":"tag-national-news","35":"tag-new-brunswick","36":"tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","37":"tag-northwest-territories","38":"tag-nova-scotia","39":"tag-nunavut","40":"tag-ontario","41":"tag-pei","42":"tag-photos","43":"tag-political-news","44":"tag-political-opinion","45":"tag-politics","46":"tag-politics-news","47":"tag-quebec","48":"tag-sports-news","49":"tag-technology","50":"tag-travel","51":"tag-trudeau","52":"tag-us-news","53":"tag-vladimir-putin","54":"tag-world-news","55":"tag-yukon"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45937\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}