DPRK has opened a memorial to its soldiers who died in the Russian war against Ukraine. They have allegedly exhibited captured Ukrainian equipment

A memorial museum dedicated to North Korean soldiers who participated in the war against Ukraine on the side of Russia has been opened in the capital of North Korea, Pyongyang.

This was reported by the North Korean state news agency KCNA.

The opening ceremony of the Memorial Museum of Military Deeds in Foreign Military Operations took place on April 26, the anniversary of the events that Pyongyang calls the liberation of the Kursk region.

The museum was opened by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Also present were the Chairman of the Russian State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin and the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Andrei Belousov, who arrived on an official visit to North Korea the day before.

At his meeting with Kim, Volodin conveyed official gratitude from Putin "for the construction of the memorial in the shortest possible time", calling it "a symbol of friendship and unity of the two peoples".

During the ceremony, the national anthems of Russia and the DPRK were played, and Kim Jong Un noted the "strategic significance of the operation to liberate the Kursk region", in which the armies of the two countries "fought side by side in the same trench to protect peace and sovereignty".

The museum, among other things, has a hall with Ukrainian weapons allegedly captured in combat, noted "Military". There are “Leopard” 2A4 and M1A1 “Abrams” tanks, “Marder” infantry fighting vehicles, AMX-10RC armored reconnaissance vehicles, VAB armored personnel carriers, as well as armored vehicles with increased mine protection, in particular the Turkish “Kirpi”.

The Union of Russia and the DPRK

Russia is using North Korean soldiers in the war with Ukraine — the first of them arrived at the front in October 2024, when it was about 12 thousand people. And in March 2025, North Korea sent another 3 thousand soldiers.

Initially, both sides denied this, but on April 26 of this year, Russia officially acknowledged for the first time the participation of North Korean troops in the war against Ukraine. Two days later, North Korea confirmed that its troops were participating in Russiaʼs full-scale war against Ukraine, including fighting on the Kursk Bulge.

In addition to manpower, the DPRK provides Russia with weapons. As early as January 4, 2024, Western media wrote that Russia had received a batch of ballistic missiles from the DPRK (several dozen) and launchers for them. On the same day, the US officially stated that Russia had short-range ballistic missiles from the DPRK and had launched them over Ukraine.

The head of the GUR Kyrylo Budanov said in January 2025 that North Korea plans to send another 150 ballistic missiles to Russia this year.

In April, Reuters reported that North Korea had transferred up to 6 million shells to Russia. Without them, Russia would not have been able to wage war so actively. At some points last year, the majority of shells used by individual Russian units were North Korean. In some places, it was said to be 100%.

In July, Ukrainian intelligence noted that North Korea intends to triple the number of its military fighting on the side of Russia and send an additional 25 000 to 30 000 soldiers to help Moscow.

As of September 2025, according to South Korean intelligence, about two thousand North Korean soldiers have already died in Russiaʼs war against Ukraine.

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