North Korea’s communist dictator Kim Jong-un celebrated the untold numbers of his citizens dying in battle to support the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine in remarks on Monday, especially acknowledging soldiers who committed suicide to avoid capture.
Kim’s mention of the “self-blasting” soldiers appeared to confirm over a year of reporting, often citing anonymous sources, that the North Korean regime was indeed indoctrinating young men sent to fight for Russia to choose to kill themselves rather than become prisoners of war in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the existence of such North Korean prisoners in January 2025, offering a pathway to exile for soldiers who chose to cooperate with the Ukrainians after capture. It is not clear at press time whether Zelensky publishing videos of the captured soldiers spurred Pyongyang’s policy of encouraging suicide.
The dictator honored the dead soldiers in a speech at an event to inaugurate the “Memorial Museum of Combat Feats at the Overseas Military Operations,” a new venue showcasing items to celebrate the North Korean soldiers killed fighting Ukraine. North Korea is the only foreign nation openly acknowledging that its men are supporting the Russian invasion, though Ukrainian officials and journalists have compiled evidence of nationals from Cuba, Zambia, India, and Peru, among others, participating in the war. South Korean intelligence officials estimate that North Korea has sent as many as 15,000 men to fight against Ukraine for Russia and about 6,000 have been killed or injured. Most are believed to be operating in the Russian region of Kursk, which Ukraine counter-invaded in 2024.
The memorial museum is meant to honor those killed for Russia, Kim explained, describing their sacrifice as a “patriotic” one despite Ukraine not posing any direct threat to North Korea independent of Pyongyang’s decision to back Russia. Kim outrageously portrayed his country’s intervention as an act in defense of “national sovereignty,” failing to address the nature of the invasion as an infringement on the sovereignty of Ukraine.
“Not only the heroes who unhesitatingly opted for self-blasting, suicide attack, in order to defend the great honour, but also those who fell in the vanguard of charges,” Kim declared, “and those who writhed in frustration at the failure to fulfil their duties as soldiers who were given orders, rather than in pain in their bodies torn by bullets and shells, cannot but be called the soldiers faithful to the Party, patriots.”
“There will be neither more sacred contribution nor more correct expression of obligation than sacrificing one’s life,” he emphasized, according to a translation by the North Korean state newspaper Rodong Sinmun. “In the sacred war to wipe out the Ukrainian armed invaders… the overseas operations units of our Korean People’s Army won the priceless victory by displaying matchless bravery, mass heroism, indomitable fighting spirit, and noble self-sacrificing spirit.”
Kim celebrated that the North Koreans and Russians “fought in the same trench shoulder to shoulder” against the Ukrainian “neo-Nazis,” adopting Russian propaganda terms. He did not offer in his remarks any explanation for how playing a role in the conflict benefits North Koreans in any way.
Reuters observed following the publication of the speech that evidence “including from intelligence reports and testimonies of defectors, has indicated that North Korean soldiers resorted to self-detonation or other forms of suicide rather than be captured.” Similarly, the Ukrainian government-linked United24 recalled in its coverage that evidence of North Koreans committing suicide emerged as early as November 2025; some reports suggested that Kim recommended self-detonation with grenades rather than being captured by the Ukrainian forces.
Ukrainian forces have reportedly captured at least two North Koreans, prior to when reports suggesting Kim began urging suicide over capture. In January 2025, President Zelensky published a video on his social media accounts showing two men he claimed to be North Korean nationals. In addition to assuring that his forces would treat the men according to international law, Zelensky suggested that North Koreans who surrendered and collaborated with Ukraine could find a pathway to freedom.
“For those North Korean soldiers who do not wish to return, there may be other options available,” Zelensky said in a written message. “In particular, those who express a desire to bring peace closer by spreading the truth about this war in Korean will be given that opportunity.”
The opening of the museum in Pyongyang was attended by several Russian officials. Kim personally met with the speaker of the Russian Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, who relayed warm wishes from fellow dictator Vladimir Putin. He also reportedly met with Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov on Sunday. The Russians conferred upon the dead soldiers, in a separate event, the Russian Order of Bravery, recognizing their participation in the invasion.
Belousov reportedly issued remarks honoring the dead in a ceremony offering the commendations.
“He said that the Korean servicepersons are always ready to become an impregnable wall against any threat with bravery and courage, adding that they are carrying forward the glorious traditions and valiance of their legendary ancestors,” according to the flagship North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Kim and his officials have repeatedly stated that North Korea’s participation in the war was necessary to further the global socialist advance, but reports last week indicated that there may be a material reward for Pyongyang’s support. The Russian official serving as “governor” of the occupied Ukrainian region of Kherson indicated that Russia is interested in selling some of the region’s agricultural products to North Korea, meeting with North Korean diplomats for a rare talk about trade, rather than only defense.
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