North Korea’s Kim says his ‘heart breaks’ as he comforts dead soldiers’ families
North Korea’s supreme leader pledged to build a monument in the capital to honour those killed fighting for Russia against Ukraine
South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have said the North sent more than 10,000 soldiers to Russia in 2024 – primarily to the Kursk region – along with artillery shells, missiles and long-range rocket systems.
Kim delivered a speech to the families on Friday, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, after meeting with only some of them last week at another public ceremony awarding honours to the soldiers.
My heart breaks and aches more at the sight of those little children
“I thought a lot about other martyrs’ families who were not present there. So I had this meeting arranged as I wanted to meet and console the bereaved families of all the heroes and relieve them of their sorrow and anguish even a little,” Kim said in his speech, according to KCNA.