North Korea Builds Museum Honoring Troops in Russian Battles
North Korea has begun construction of a museum in Pyongyang dedicated to its soldiers who fought alongside Russia against Ukraine, glorifying their actions as heroic deeds outside the country.
The Gaze reports on it, referring to Politico.
According to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) state news agency KCNA, the Memorial Museum of Combat Feats is intended to honor North Korean soldiers who fought on Russian territory in 2024–2025. In particular, it refers to their involvement in military operations in the Kursk region, helping the Kremlin repel the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
“The combatants of the armed forces of the Republic performed the brilliant military exploits and services in the military operations to liberate the Kursk Region of the fraternal Russian Federation at the cost of their blood and lives,” the statement reads.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un also took part in the ceremony. He gave a speech in which he announced that the new museum would become a symbol of the “the ennobling soul of the great heroes” and a confirmation of the “long-term development of the friendship between the DPRK and Russia at the cost of precious blood.”
Last year, Pyongyang sent between 10,000 and 12,000 soldiers to Russia to participate in the fighting against the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Ukrainian troops held territory in the Kursk region for more than six months until North Korean units helped the Russians drive them out in the spring of 2025.
According to estimates by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, about 4,000 North Korean soldiers were killed or wounded in these battles.
After the announcement of their withdrawal, the Ukrainian General Staff reported that North Korean troops had reappeared near the border, participating in reconnaissance and fire correction in the Sumy region.
The construction of the museum in Pyongyang is seen as part of a broader propaganda campaign aimed at cementing the military alliance between North Korea and Russia and legitimizing North Korea's participation in the war against Ukraine.
As The Gaze informed earlier, North Korea supplies Russia with 35 to 50% of all its ammunition needs, becoming one of the main sources of weapons for the war against Ukraine.
Read more on The Gaze: Kremlin’s Foreign Legion: North Korea’s Role in Russia’s War and the New Global Divide