North Korea’s state media released footage of Kim Jong Un paying tribute to the flag-draped coffins of soldiers who were killed fighting for Russia in its war against Ukraine.
The video of the North Korean leader was played at a Pyongyang gala performance on Sunday, which he attended along with Russian officials. In the video, which did not specify when the footage had been filmed, he could be seen standing among a row of caskets that appeared to be on a tarmac.
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The performances were meant to celebrate the “militant ties of friendship and the genuine internationalist obligation between the peoples and armies of the two countries that were forged at the cost of blood,” state media Korean Central News Agency said.
Russia’s delegation was led by Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova and the staff of the Russian embassy in Pyongyang, according to the Korean Central News Agency. Kim’s daughter, Jim Ju Ae, was visible alongside her father during the event; there is speculation she could ultimately be his successor.
Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a landmark strategic and military pact a year ago; North Korea held a commemoration event for it over the weekend. As a result of the agreement, North Korea deployed more than 10,000 troops and sent thousands of artillery shells to help Putin’s war. Around 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed on the battlefield, according to South Korean intelligence estimates, while thousands more have been wounded.
The North Korean troops primarily helped Russian forces push Ukrainian troops out of the Russian border town of Kursk. Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu announced last month during a visit to Pyongyang that Kim agreed to send an additional 6,000 personnel to the region, including civilians and military operatives, to aid in reconstruction.
South Korea warned that Kim could also deploy additional troops to aid Russia in achieving its war efforts.
Putin’s forces were widely expected to overwhelm Ukraine’s military in a matter of weeks, but it proved to be a much more formidable fighting force than expected. The Ukrainians, for more than three years, have prevented Russia’s troops from accomplishing their primary objectives and forced Putin to seek help from other despots across the globe, such as Kim.
SOUTH KOREA SEEKING CHINESE HELP IMPROVING TIES WITH NORTH KOREA
The North Korean dictator “expects concessions” in return, Adm. Samuel Paparo, the commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, told lawmakers in April.
“He’s doing it in order to gain concessions, and those concessions would be modernization of [North Korea’s] air defenses, specifically the MiG 29 the SU 27 advanced help for their surface to air missiles, quieting technology for their submarines, additional help in order to instantiate a ballistic missile submarine as well,” Paparo explained.