North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has decorated some of the soldiers sent to Russia to help it in its war against Ukraine, hailing the “heroes” who had “cemented” the North Korean army’s reputation and saying there would be more such deployments.

Why It Matters

North Korea has sent about 15,000 troops to Russia, according to South Korean estimates, and has also supplied vital military equipment to Russia for its war, including artillery and ballistic missiles.

North Korea only acknowledged its role in the Ukraine conflict about six months after the first reports emerged of its troops on the front lines in Russia’s Kursk region, where they were deployed following an incursion by Ukrainian forces.

The deployment signaled growing international assertiveness by the isolated state and highlighted its strong ties with Russia. It also alarmed North Korea’s rival, South Korea, as well as Ukraine and its allies.

What To Know

Kim, in a speech at a ceremony to award medals to commanders and combatants, hailed the troops sent to Kursk as “great heroes and patriots,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

Kim also placed medals beside portraits of “martyrs” and photos published by state media showed Kim with portraits hanging on a “memorial wall” at the headquarters of the ruling party.

A total of 101 portraits of the war dead were seen on the wall, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.

North Korean state media gave no casualty toll for the fighting in Russia.

South Korea’s main intelligence agency said in April that about 600 North Korean soldiers were believed to have been killed fighting for Russia and more than 4,000 were wounded.

Kim also consoled bereaved families, photos published by the KCNA showed. A concert was held for the returning soldiers as well as a banquet that included bereaved family members, KCNA said.

Kim was given a detailed report on the the combat units sent to Russia in a meeting with commanders on Wednesday.

He “highly appreciated their feats of leading the combat units of our armed forces, which participated in the operations to liberate the Kursk Region of the Russian Federation, to victory,” Voice of Korea, the state international broadcaster, reported.

“Ours is a heroic army,” Kim was cited as saying, adding that the deployment had “cemented” the army’s reputation globally

“Our army is now doing what it ought to do and what needs to be done. It will do so in the future, too,” he said.

Ties with Russia have strengthened since the deployment. Ukraine’s top military intelligence official said this month that Russia is aiding North Korea in modernizing its nuclear weapons delivery systems and a senior Ukrainian intelligence official said in June that Russia had agreed to help North Korea set up sites to manufacture Iranian-designed Shahed drones.

What People Are Saying

Kim said at the medal ceremony: “The victory won by the brave soldiers who participated in the war is a great feat that firmly defended the great honor of the KPA (Korean People’s Army), which should never be undermined, and provided a sure guarantee for the existence and development of our state.”