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Fighting ‘Sacred’ War in Ukraine, North Korea and Russia Pledge to Deepen Ties
The two countries discussed long-term military cooperation, as they opened a memorial for North Korean troops killed in Russia’s war in Ukraine.
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A photograph provided by North Korean state media showed the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, at the opening ceremony of a memorial in Pyongyang on Sunday. Defense Minister Andrei R. Belousov and Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin of Russia sit behind him.
Credit...
Korean Central News Agency, via Reuters
By
Choe Sang-Hun
Reporting from Seoul
April 27, 2026,
5:10 a.m. ET
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North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, hailed a “new history of friendship with Russia written in blood” as he presided over the opening of a memorial built for his troops killed fighting for Russia in its war against Ukraine. Moscow, in turn, pledged to sign a five-year plan for bilateral military cooperation.
Mr. Kim and a high-level Russian delegation that included Defense Minister Andrei R. Belousov and Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin attended the unveiling of the memorial complex in Pyongyang on Sunday, state media of both countries reported on Monday. Photos showed Mr. Kim embracing North Korean veterans of the war, as well as Russian delegates, during a ceremony held before a white granite building. He also inspected rows of tombstones for fallen soldiers on the lawn in front of the structure.
After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Mr. Kim provided desperately needed support, first sending large shipments of artillery rounds and missiles, then thousands of troops. South Korean intelligence officials believe at least hundreds of North Korean soldiers have been
killed
in the fighting.
Since last summer, North Korea
has publicly lionized
the fallen, with Mr. Kim lauding them as loyal heroes sacrificed in what he called a “sacred war” in Ukraine and against the U.S.-led global order. He has invited bereaved families to state banquets, presented them with new apartments in Pyongyang and honored returning troops with medals. Mr. Kim built the memorial complex as a symbol of his country’s newly forged military alliance with Russia — and as a testament to the assistance Pyongyang provided Moscow at a moment of need.
In remarks at the opening ceremony on Sunday, Mr. Kim vowed to sustain North Korean support for Russia’s war effort, framing it as the foundation for long-term cooperation with Moscow.
“We have inscribed in this memorial hall a new history of friendship with Russia written in blood, and a new history of justice won with blood,” he said.
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