Story perspectives

Kim Honors Suicide Attack Troops, Opens Museum, Russia Aid $14 B

4/28/2026

Summary

Story summary

Kim Jong-un praised soldiers who carried out suicide attacks as heroic at a memorial ceremony.
Andrey Belousov met Kim Jong-un, opened a museum for North Korean troops killed in Ukraine, and announced a 2027-2031 roadmap.
South Korean intelligence estimates about 15,000 North Korean soldiers fought in the Kursk region, with roughly 2,000 killed.
Analysts say Russian aid, food, energy and advanced weapons technology may have generated up to $14.4 billion for Pyongyang.

History

Historical Context

North Korea’s pattern of trading weapons for cash dates to the early 1980s, when it sold $800 million of Soviet-type arms to Iran and later supplied Iraq with Scud missiles during the 1991 Gulf War after relations were revived in 1999. Today Kim Jong-un lauds North Korean troops fighting in Russia’s Kursk region, echoing the regime’s long-standing reliance on overseas combat for revenue and influence.

1 of 2

Story summary

Kim Jong-un praised soldiers who carried out suicide attacks as heroic at a memorial ceremony.
Andrey Belousov met Kim Jong-un, opened a museum for North Korean troops killed in Ukraine, and announced a 2027-2031 roadmap.
South Korean intelligence estimates about 15,000 North Korean soldiers fought in the Kursk region, with roughly 2,000 killed.
Analysts say Russian aid, food, energy and advanced weapons technology may have generated up to $14.4 billion for Pyongyang.

1 / 2