Kim Jong Un reportedly awards troops who fought for Russia
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un publicly decorated soldiers who fought alongside Russian forces in the war against Ukraine, state media reported on Aug. 21.
At a ceremony in Pyongyang, Kim praised the overseas troops and said their participation demonstrated "the power of the heroic (North Korean) army." Referring to fighting in Russia’s Kursk region, he added that the "liberation of Kursk" proved the "fighting spirit of the heroes," according to the Korean Central News Agency.
The event included a concert and a banquet with bereaved family members. A day earlier, Kim had met with officers of the overseas deployment and paid tribute to those killed in action. Around 600 North Korean soldiers have been reported killed out of roughly 15,000 deployed, South Korean lawmakers said in April, citing intelligence assessments.
North Korea began deploying combat troops to Russia in late 2024, initially fighting on Russian soil in Kursk Oblast rather than crossing into Ukraine. The North Korean soldiers were tasked with countering a surprise Ukrainian incursion launched last August.
Ukrainian officials now assess that Pyongyang has expanded its deployment, sending an additional 20,000 to 30,000 troops, though a senior Western diplomat told the Kyiv Independent that the true number may be lower.
Of the roughly 12,000 troops believed to have been deployed in the fall of 2024, President Volodymyr Zelensky said about 4,000 had suffered casualties. South Korean intelligence later estimated that North Korea has taken around 4,700 casualties overall, including at least 600 deaths.
