Overview

• State TV aired Kim Jong‑un receiving at least twenty coffins and bowing before a gallery that Yonhap counted at about 101 portraits.
• Kim publicly mourned the fallen and decorated returning personnel in a rare acknowledgment of overseas combat losses reported by KCNA.
• South Korean intelligence estimates roughly 15,000 North Koreans were deployed with about 600 killed and 4,000 wounded, while MI6’s chief has cited around 6,000 total casualties.
• Vladimir Putin sent a letter praising the valor of North Korean fighters as the countries deepen cooperation under a June military assistance pact that Seoul says has included conventional arms and about five million rounds of ammunition.
• Intelligence assessments suggest Pyongyang may send additional units to Russia, with some estimates pointing to tens of thousands more, as Seoul voices concern over the return of battle‑hardened troops.