Why has North Korea finally admitted its troops are dying in Russia’s war on Ukraine? (Khang Vu – The Interpreter)

North Korea has rarely admitted the presence of its troops in foreign battlefields, let alone in an ongoing conflict. However, in late April, it did just that. North Korean chairman Kim Jong-un praised the “heroism and bravery” of the troops sent to Russia’s Kursk region to fight against “the sovereignty infringement committed by the Ukrainian authorities.” Kim also ordered a monument be built in the capital Pyongyang commemorating North Korea soldiers killed in the Russia-Ukraine War, a gesture that would elevate the status of these soldiers to the ranks of North Korean soldiers killed during the war of liberation from Japan and the Korean War.

Why has North Korea finally admitted its troops are dying in Russia’s war on Ukraine? | Lowy Institute