Kim Jong Un Lauds Troops Who 'Opted for Self-Blasting'
Newser • • world
Key Points:
- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un praised troops who reportedly committed suicide with grenades rather than be captured while fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, calling them "heroes" in a speech in Pyongyang.
- South Korean intelligence estimates about 15,000 North Koreans have fought in Ukraine, with over 6,000 believed dead, and soldiers are reportedly instructed that surrender is considered treason.
- The comments were made during the opening of the Memorial Museum of Combat Feats at the Overseas Military Operations, which honors North Korean soldiers killed fighting for Russia.
- Kim claimed the soldiers' actions helped thwart "the United States' and the West's hegemonic ambitions and military adventurism," framing their deaths as heroic sacrifices.
