North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has awarded medals to troops who took part in Russia’s war against Ukraine

New images released by North Korean state media on Friday showed leader Kim Jong Un bowing before portraits of soldiers killed while fighting for Russia in Ukraine, and embracing an emotional survivor of the conflict.

The ceremony, marked by elaborate displays, featured Kim awarding medals, placing them beside the portraits of the dead, and consoling returning soldiers. Pyongyang’s leadership hailed the fighters as “heroes” who had given their youth and lives.

According to South Korean and Western intelligence, North Korea dispatched more than 10,000 troops to Russia in 2024—mostly to the Kursk region—along with artillery shells, missiles, and long-range rocket systems. Seoul has estimated that around 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed and thousands more wounded in the fighting.

The event, held at the Workers’ Party headquarters in Pyongyang, displayed portraits and names of fallen soldiers on stage. Kim praised the “admirable” troops who had “returned home with great honour” after enduring the “hail of bullets and bombs” in a foreign war, state news agency KCNA reported.

Photographs showed an emotional Kim embracing a soldier who buried his face in the leader’s chest, as well as Kim kneeling before a fallen fighter’s portrait, placing medals and flowers in tribute.

KCNA said Kim personally conferred the title of “DPRK Hero” on commanding officers who distinguished themselves in overseas operations, while also meeting bereaved families to share “the pain of loss.”

Pyongyang only officially confirmed in April that it had sent troops to support Russia’s war in Ukraine and acknowledged casualties among its forces.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has held separate talks with Russian and Ukrainian leaders in an effort to end the conflict, but little progress has been made.

Last week, North Korean media reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin praised North Korean troops fighting in Ukraine as “heroic” in a letter to Kim. Washington, however, has said Moscow is compensating Pyongyang with assistance in advanced satellite and space technology—capabilities closely tied to intercontinental ballistic missile development.