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2h ago

Kim Jong-un Drapes Flags Over Coffins at North Korea–Russia Treaty Gala

The ceremony underscores Pyongyang’s orchestrated pageantry to shore up public support before dispatching combat engineers then construction personnel to Kursk

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends an event to celebrate Russia's Victory Day, at the Russian embassy in Pyongyang, North Korea, May 9, 2025 in this picture released by the Korean Central News Agency. KCNA via REUTERS/ File Photo
The images of Kim mourning the fallen soldiers were broadcast as part of an event in Pyongyang attended by Russian Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova
This footage, released by North Korea's Korean Central Television on June 30, 2025, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un mourning over a coffin believed to belong to a North Korean soldier killed in Russia, which was aired during an artists' performance held a day earlier at the East Pyongyang Grand Theater in the North's capital. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

Overview

  • North Korean state media showed Kim solemnly draping national flags over a half dozen coffins during a joint cultural gala marking the first anniversary of the 2024 strategic partnership treaty with Russia.
  • Only about four to six coffins appeared in state television footage despite South Korean estimates of over 4,700 DPRK fatalities on the Kursk front.
  • The broadcast also replayed images of Kim signing off on the “Liberation Operation Plan for Kursk” on Oct. 22, Dec. 12 and Dec. 22, 2024, highlighting his direct role in the operation.
  • Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu said Pyongyang agreed to dispatch 1,000 combat engineers and 5,000 military construction personnel to strengthen Russian positions in the Kursk region.
  • South Korea’s National Intelligence Service cautioned that additional North Korean troops, including further engineering and construction units, could arrive in July or August.