North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un praised his troops for choosing death over capture — CNN
During the opening of a memorial to fallen soldiers, the North Korean leader stated that soldiers who blew themselves up to avoid capture had demonstrated “the highest level of loyalty.” In North Korea, such actions are now officially presented as examples of heroism in the war against Ukraine.
This is reported in a CNN article.
According to a transcript published by the North Korean state media outlet KCNA, Kim stated that those who “without hesitation chose self-detonation” and suicide attacks demonstrated the highest form of loyalty. He was referring to soldiers who threw themselves on grenades or detonated explosives rather than risk being taken prisoner.
Kim made these remarks at the opening of a massive new memorial complex on the outskirts of the capital, walking past rows of freshly dug graves before kneeling to scatter soil over an open burial site.
For months, North Korean state media had offered vivid and often graphic accounts of how these soldiers died. Previous reports described how soldiers detonated grenades when surrounded, shouted at their comrades to move away before triggering the explosion, or killed themselves after being wounded to avoid capture. In one report, soldiers embraced each other before detonating explosives.
For years, intelligence agencies, Ukrainian officials, and defectors have reported that North Korean soldiers were expected to commit suicide rather than be captured. Pyongyang has never confirmed this. Now this doctrine is being endorsed at the highest level, publicly, at a site built to honor those who died in the war.
This memorial is one of the clearest indications of the scale of North Korea’s involvement in Russia’s war. An analysis by NK News revealed that 2,288 names of soldiers believed to have died in combat are engraved on two black marble walls inside the complex, along with 271 graves and over 1,700 niches for cremated remains. The complex has expanded its walls and made room for future graves, indicating that this is not a closed chapter.
As a reminder, the total losses of the DPRK in the war against Ukraine have been reported.
Recall that the Russian Ministry of Culture refused to issue a distribution certificate for the film “Leaving North Korea,” which was scheduled to hit theaters on April 30.
Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev made a working visit to North Korea, where talks with the country’s leadership are scheduled.
The state news agency of the aggressor country, TASS, and the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) signed an agreement on strategic cooperation, which provides for the exchange of information and delegations.
