North Korea unveils memorial complex for soldiers killed fighting for Russia

North Korean and Russian officials on Sunday evening attended the inauguration of the Memorial Museum of Combat Feats at Overseas Military Operations in Pyongyang, a new complex dedicated to soldiers killed fighting for Moscow in Russia’s southwest Kursk region, the Korean Central News Agency has reported.

The ceremony was attended by the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, as well as a Russian delegation headed by Speaker of the Russian Parliament Vyacheslav Volodin and Defence Minister Andrey Belousov.

After a speech by Kim Jong-un, in which the supreme leader lauded the “strategic significance of the operations for liberating Kursk” and accused the United States of pursuing a “hegemonic plot and military adventurism” in Ukraine, Volodin read out a statement from Vladimir Putin expressing Russia’s “sincere gratitude and high respect” for the Korean People’s Army.

The inauguration was followed by a burial ceremony for fallen soldiers, as well as a memorial concert entitled “Stars of the Motherland” during which Russian and North Korean patriotic songs were performed for attendees, including family members of the deceased.

Sunday marked the one-year anniversary of the “complete liberation” of the Kursk region, which was announced by Russia’s Defence Ministry on 26 April 2025 and ended Ukraine’s eight-month partial occupation of the territory.

According to South Korean intelligence, up to 6,000 North Korean servicemen were either killed or injured while fighting for Russia in Kursk, while another 10,000 remain on the front. Neither the Russian nor North Korean governments have released any official casualty figures.

The new museum complex is located on Saeppyol Street, named “New Star” in Korean in honour of the soldiers killed in Kursk. The street was opened by Kim Jong-un in February and also hosts a prestigious residential area for bereaved families.

Earlier on Sunday, TASS reported that Russia and North Korea had agreed to sign a new long-term military cooperation agreement covering the period 2027–2031, during an official meeting between Belousov and Kim Jong-un.

Speaking at the meeting, Belousov said that the countries would “transition military cooperation to a sustainable, long-term basis”, and noted that Russian–North Korean relations were at “an unprecedentedly high level.”