Overview

• State media showed Kim mourning in a Pyongyang ceremony that displayed 101 portraits of the fallen, awarded medals and featured meetings with grieving families.
• KCNA quoted Kim praising the overseas unit’s performance and referencing fighting in Russia’s Kursk region as proof of the troops’ “heroic” resolve.
• Western and Ukrainian assessments cited in reporting estimate roughly 10,000–12,000 North Korean personnel in Russia, with about 4,000 killed or wounded, while South Korean figures list at least 600 dead.
• CNN, citing a Western intelligence official, reported North Korea may send a further 25,000–30,000 troops to Russia in the coming months.
• Officials and media reports say Pyongyang continues large-scale arms transfers to Moscow, including ammunition and rockets, as Seoul-based analysts see the public honors as a bid to justify the mission and bolster morale.