Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 30, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleKim Jong Un honored fallen soldiers at a Russia treaty event, highlighting North Korea's military alliance with Russia amid the Ukraine conflict.
SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korea's state media showed on Monday leader Kim Jong Un draping coffins with the national flag in what appeared to be the repatriation of soldiers killed fighting for Russia against Ukraine, as the countries marked a landmark military treaty.
In a series of photographs displayed in the backdrop of a gala performance by North Korean and visiting Russian artists in Pyongyang, Kim is seen by rows of a half a dozen coffins, covering them with flags and pausing briefly with both hands resting on them.
The scene followed images of North Korean and Russian soldiers waving their national flags with patriotic notes written in Korean. Kim is seen at the gala seemingly overcome with emotion and audience members wiping away tears.
North Korea's state KRT television aired the performance, which was attended by Russian Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova who is leading a delegation to mark the first anniversary of the strategic partnership treaty as Kim's guest.
The performance was enthusiastically received for inspiring confidence in the "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," KCNA news agency said.
Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the strategic partnership treaty in June last year in Pyongyang. It includes a mutual defence pact.
After months of silence, the two countries have disclosed the deployment of North Korean troops and lauded the "heroic" role they played in Moscow's offensive against Ukraine to reclaim the Kursk region in western Russia.
(Reporting by Joyce Lee, Jack Kim, Hyun Young Yi;Editing by Ros Russell)
Kim Jong Un participated in a gala performance in Pyongyang, where he was seen draping coffins with the national flag.
The performance marked the first anniversary of the strategic partnership treaty between North Korea and Russia.
The performance was attended by Russian Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova and a delegation from Russia.
The treaty includes a mutual defense pact signed by Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
North Korean troops have been disclosed as having played a 'heroic' role in Moscow's offensive against Ukraine.
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