Kim Jong-un pledges regime will look after families of North Korean soldiers killed in Ukraine

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, right, embraces a boy whose father was killed in the Russia-Ukraine war in a ceremony in Pyongyang on Aug. 29. The photo was released by the North's state-controlled Korean Central News Agency on Aug. 30. [YONHAP]

 
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met with the families of soldiers who were killed after being deployed to fight in the war in Ukraine, offering condolences in a rare, highly publicized ceremony that underscored the costs of Pyongyang's military involvement abroad.
 
The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Saturday that a second round of national commendations for “overseas operations units of the Korean People’s Army” had been held the previous day.  
 
The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the ruling Workers’ Party, reported that Kim personally comforted the bereaved families, publishing photographs that showed him bowing deeply to them.
 

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During the ceremony, which was held at a state banquet facility in Pyongyang, Kim presented portraits of the fallen soldiers, each draped in the North Korean flag, to their families.  
 
He also posed for commemorative photos with relatives and conferred the title of “Hero of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” along with the Gold Star Medal and First-Class National Flag Medal, on those recognized for distinguished service “in overseas military operations.”
 
“When I met the bereaved families during the commendation ceremony, I could not help but think of those who could not be present,” Kim was quoted as saying. “That is why I arranged today’s gathering—to give at least some comfort and help ease the grief and sense of loss. I once again apologize to all the families, carrying with me the sorrow that I could not bring our officers and soldiers back alive from distant battlefields, the regret that I could not protect their precious lives.”
 
Kim also pledged to assume responsibility for raising the children of soldiers killed in overseas operations.  
 
“Though they left without writing me even a short letter, I believe they entrusted to me their homes and their beloved children,” he said. “Their sons and daughters will be sent to our revolutionary schools, where I, the state, and our army will take full responsibility for raising them well.”  
 
Such schools are elite institutions designed to groom the children of people who died in the service of the North Korean regime as future party officials.
 

North Koreans mourn while holding portraits of relatives killed in the Russia-Ukraine war in a ceremony held in Pyongyang on Aug. 29. This collage of photographs was released by the Korean Central News Agency on Aug. 30. [YONHAP]

 
The North Korean leader further announced plans to establish a permanent memorial at a new site called “Saebyeol Street,” where the remains of fallen soldiers would be interred near the Pyongyang Arboretum, as well as a monument to their “immortal feats.”
 
Senior officials who joined Kim for commemorative photographs of the ceremony included his sister Kim Yo-jong, Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Pak Jong-chon, Defense Minister Roh Kwang-chol and Chief of the General Staff Ri Yong-gil.
 
The ceremony was the second of its kind in just over a week.  
 
On Aug. 22, state media reported that a “wall of remembrance” had been erected at the headquarters of the Workers’ Party, with medals laid under the portraits of 101 fallen soldiers.  
 
Analysts say the rapid succession of memorials is aimed at quelling discontent and shoring up internal unity amid protracted deployments and mounting casualties.
 
In April, Seoul’s National Intelligence Service told South Korean lawmakers that North Korean casualties in Ukraine totaled 4,700, including 600 dead.
 


This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HONG JU-HEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]