KOREAN PENINSULA — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov unveiled a memorial in Pyongyang on April 27, 2026, honoring North Korean soldiers killed fighting in the Ukraine war. At the ceremony, Kim praised North Korean soldiers who killed themselves by detonating their grenades while fighting for Russia against Ukraine. Russian officials at the ceremony thanked North Korea for sending troops to fight in the Ukraine war.

An estimated 15,000 North Korean personnel were deployed to help Russia recapture territory in Kursk. More than 6,000 of those personnel were reported killed. The memorial ceremony marked one of the most public acknowledgments by either government of North Korea's military role in the conflict, with both Kim and Belousov appearing together at the event in Pyongyang. North Korean soldiers who detonated grenades to kill themselves rather than surrender were among those honored at the memorial, according to Kim's remarks at the ceremony.