Kim Jong Un Builds Kursk Museum, Symbol Of Military Alliance With Russia

North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un at the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the Combat Achievement Commemoration Museum in Pyongyang, Thursday 23 October 2025

JAKARTA North Korean leader Kim Jong Un confirmed his country's military alliance with Russia will 'progress non-stop' in his speech at the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the Combat Achievement Museum in Pyongyang, Thursday, October 23. The museum was dedicated to North Korean soldiers who died in the Kursk region, Russia, during the Ukraine war.

According to a KCNA report, Kim said the deployment of troops to Russia "marked the beginning of a new history of militant solidarity" and became evidence of "brotherhoods paid for with valuable blood." He also emphasized that the challenge of "domination and tyranny" will not break the relationship between the two countries.

The museum, named the Memorial Museum of Combat Feats, will be equipped with memorial halls, funerals, as well as monuments and works of art depicting foreign military operations. Kim called this project the first in North Korean history to capture the sacrifices of troops fighting abroad for justice and independence.

The event was attended by Russian Ambassador to Pyongyang, Aleksandr Matsegora, and a number of North Korean military officials and the families of the soldiers who died. The Guardian (24/10) reported that at least 600 North Korean soldiers were killed and thousands injured in the war in Ukraine.

The military involvement was publicly acknowledged by Pyongyang in early 2025. In a speech quoted by KCNA (Korean Central News Agency) and published by Al Jazeera (24/10), Kim said his troops were deployed to eliminate the Ukrainian neo-Nazi colonialists and free Kursk territory with the Russian armed forces.

The move marks the close military relations between the two countries after Russian Kim and President Vladimir Putin ratified last year's Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement, requiring each party to provide military assistance by all means if one of them is attacked.

It seems, for North Korea, or also Kim Jong Un, the construction of this museum is not just a memorial. It could also be interpreted as a message to the world that Pyongyang now appears open as Russia's active ally in the landscape of modern war and increasingly heated global confrontation.