Commemorative plaque honoring N. Korean troops fighting Ukraine unveiled in Russia

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A ceremony unveiling a commemorative plaque honoring North Korean soldiers who fought alongside Russian troops against Ukraine took place last week, Pyongyang's state media reported Monday, as reported by Yonhap News. The plaque was unveiled Friday at the Pantheon of Defenders of the Motherland, run by Russia's Defense Ministry in the Moscow region, to convey the "heroic feats" of soldiers of the Korean People's Army overseas operations units involved in the operation to liberate Russia's Kursk region, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), as cited by Yonhap.

Coverage Comparison

The plaque, mounted on the outer wall of the building, features a relief of a North Korean soldier standing with a rifle against the backdrop of the national flag. Its inscription reads: "Russia will never forget the feats performed by the DPRK combatants in Kursk Region," according to KCNA. Officials from Russia's defense ministry and other officials attended the ceremony, along with North Korean Ambassador to Russia Sin Hong-chol and embassy staff, Yonhap reported.

In a separate report, Yonhap covered North Korea's awarding of party and state commendations to artists behind a memorial built for its soldiers killed while fighting in Russia's war with Ukraine. The awards, given the previous day, recognized officials and artists at the Mansudae Art Studio for their "distinguished merits in the construction" of the Memorial Museum of Combat Feats, which KCNA called "a great monument of the times." At the awarding ceremony, Ju Chang-il, a secretary of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea's central committee, praised their work for making the museum "the one that comprehensively reflects the level of Korean architecture and fine art," according to KCNA.

Key Claims

• Mutual defense pact and troop deployments: Yonhap reported that North Korea and Russia signed a mutual defense pact in June 2024, after which Pyongyang deployed its first batch of troops to Russia's border regions in October of that year to aid Moscow's war effort against Kyiv. The North is since believed to have sent around 20,000 combat troops and military engineers to the Kursk region, with as many as 14,000 estimated to be currently deployed to the front lines.
• Earlier deployment estimates: A separate Yonhap report stated that North Korea has sent around 15,000 combat troops to Russia since 2024 to support Moscow's war against Ukraine. The same report noted that Seoul's spy agency earlier said about 6,000 North Korean soldiers were estimated to have been killed or injured in the prolonged war.
• Memorial museum details: The Memorial Museum of Combat Feats opened in Pyongyang in April last year, built to hold the remains of fallen soldiers and honor their role in the war. It is adorned with sculptures and paintings depicting the soldiers by artists at the Mansudae Art Studio, known for propaganda posters, monuments and fine art for the state, as reported by Yonhap.