Kim Jong Un Announces War Museum Honoring North Korean Troops Deployed to Russia’s Kursk Region

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has announced plans to build a museum in Pyongyang dedicated to the Korean People's Army (KPA) servicemen who, according to him, participated in a military operation to “liberate Russia's Kursk region”—referring to the full-scale war launched by the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

This was reported by the North Korean state news agency KCNA on October 24.

The ceremony for the “Memorial Museum of Combat Exploits in the Overseas Military Operation” took place on October 23. In attendance, alongside Kim Jong Un and the leadership of the KPA, the party, and state institutions, were the Russian Ambassador to the DPRK, Alexander Matsegora, and staff from the Russian embassy.

“Today we are holding the groundbreaking ceremony of the Memorial Museum of Combat Feats that will hand down forever the shining life of the heroes and fallen soldiers of the overseas operations units, excellent sons of the Korean people and defenders of justice,” Kim Jong Un stated.

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The North Korean leader emphasized that the museum should eternally preserve the “miraculous victory” and “brilliant military exploits” allegedly achieved by the soldiers over the past year, since they “made a forceful march towards the battlefield in the alien land, expecting no reward or send-off.”

Kim Jong Un, along with senior party and government officials, participated in the symbolic laying of the foundation by taking a shovel in his hands. He also met with wounded servicemen who had recovered after participating in the “overseas military operation.”

The North Korean leader stressed that the museum serves as historical evidence “of state’s powerfulness” and a guarantee of the long-term development of friendship between the DPRK and Russia. He added that the bilateral ties between the two “just and powerful” countries will be filled with new “honourable pages of strength and victory.”

Earlier, analysts suspected that North Korea's newest intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-20, was developed with technical support provided by Russia. This missile was prominently displayed during a recent military parade held in Pyongyang.

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