Pyongyang: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has extended his condolences to the families of North Korean soldiers who were killed while deployed to Russia during the ongoing conflict with Ukraine. This gesture was made during a ceremony to honor soldiers for their overseas operations, as reported by state media on Saturday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the ceremony took place just days before Kim's scheduled visit to China, where he will attend a large-scale military parade alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The event, held on Friday, was the second of its kind, with Kim awarding state commendations to soldiers involved in the war.
This ceremony appears to be an effort by North Korea to emphasize the sacrifices of its troops in the war, especially in light of Kim's anticipated summit with Putin in China. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that the recent event followed a similar ceremony held in Pyongyang on August 22. Photos from state media depicted Kim placing hero medals next to portraits of 101 soldiers who died in combat.
During the ceremony, Kim presented the portraits, wrapped in national flags, of other fallen soldiers to their families and engaged in a photo session with them, as per KCNA reports. Kim expressed his regret, stating, "To all the bereaved families of the martyrs, I once again express my regret about having failed to save the precious lives of our officers and soldiers who fell in the battlegrounds on a foreign land, as I am anxious that I could not bring them alive back here."
Kim also announced plans to construct a new street in Pyongyang's Taesong district, to be called "Saebyol Street," in honor of the fallen troops. The remains of these "martyrs" will be interred in the arboretum in front of the street, and a monument will be erected to commemorate their "immortal combat feats."
Furthermore, Kim assured that the children of these heroes would be sent to "revolutionary schools" to be trained as "staunch and courageous fighters like their fathers," pledging to take "full responsibility" for their upbringing. These schools are designed to prepare the children of those who sacrificed for the state as potential key party officials.
Since October of the previous year, North Korea has provided conventional weapons and approximately 13,000 troops to support Russia's military efforts, amid growing military cooperation between the two nations. South Korea's spy agency reported in April that approximately 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed in combat, with over 4,000 troops injured.