August M
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has presided over the opening of a new housing complex dedicated to families of soldiers who died fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine. The ceremony comes as Pyongyang prepares for a key political gathering later this month.
According to state news agency KCNA, cited by Digi24.ro, Kim attended the inauguration of a newly built street of apartments intended for relatives of fallen troops. He was accompanied by his daughter, Ju Ae.
North Korea is believed to have deployed thousands of soldiers to support Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, which began nearly four years ago. South Korean and Western intelligence agencies estimate that at least 2,000 North Korean troops have been killed.
Ceremony and message
Speaking at Sunday’s event, Kim paid tribute to the dead. “Before their death, the heroic martyrs must have imagined their beloved families living in an ever-prosperous country,” he said, according to KCNA.
Images released by state media showed Kim touring the apartments with Ju Ae at his side. Her prominent presence at official events has drawn attention in recent months.
South Korean intelligence officials said last week that the teenager appears to have been “designated as a successor,” pointing to her repeated appearances alongside her father at high-profile ceremonies.
Political timing
The housing inauguration comes ahead of North Korea’s upcoming party congress, the country’s most significant political meeting, though an exact date has not been announced.
Observers expect Kim to outline both domestic and foreign policy priorities during the gathering. Speculation has also grown over whether Ju Ae could receive a formal party title.
Hong Min, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul, told AFP that the timing is deliberate. “This serves to show that the state is providing concrete compensation to the families of fallen soldiers (…) in a symbolic demonstration,” he said. He described the move as a calculated effort to justify troop deployments ahead of the congress.
Analysts say that in return for military support, Russia has provided North Korea with financial assistance, military technology and supplies of food and energy.
Sources: Digi24.ro, AFP, KCNA.
