Kim Jong Un throws himself on coffin of North Korean soldier killed fighting for Russia in bizarre TV show
The program showed North Korean and Russian officials weeping as they viewed footage of Kim kneeling over a flag-draped casket of one of the hundreds of Koreans he had sent into Moscow's meat grinder in Ukraine.
Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova traveled to Pyongyang for the TV show and she spoke glowingly about the sacrifices of North Korean troops for the Russian cause.
5 Kim Jong Un was shown mourning over the coffins of North Korean soldiers killed helping Russia in the Kursk region.
Korean Central Television (KCTV)/AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images
5 The show was the first public acknowledgment from Kim about his army's role in the Ukraine invasion.
Reuters
At one point in the program, the camera panned from the video of Kim in the audience, who appeared to be stoically overcome with emotion at the images of fallen DPRK soldiers being shown on a giant screen.
As part of the show, the state also displayed a blood-stained notebook that was allegedly retrieved from a slain soldier on the Russian battlefield.
'The decisive moment has finally come,' one of the pages read, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.
'Let us bravely fight this sacred battle with the boundless love and trust bestowed upon us by our beloved Supreme Commander,' it added, referring to Kim.
About 600 Pyongyang soldiers have been killed and thousands more wounded fighting against Kyiv after Kim deployed some 12,000 soldiers to help Russia regain control of the Kursk region, according to Ukrainian and South Korean intelligence.
5 The show was meant to highlight the sacrifices North Korea was willing to make as part of its partnership with Russia.
Korean Central Television (KCTV)/AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images
5 Spectators in the crowd were seen weeping over the performance in the totalitarian state.
Reuters
The show was a rare public tribute from Kim, but it also served to highlight the first anniversary of the military treaty between Pyongyang and Moscow.
North Korea has previously shied away from acknowledging its military cooperation with Russia, which includes shipping thousands of soldiers and munitions to help Moscow invade Ukraine.
Monday's broadcast, however, appeared to demonstrate a change in tactics for Pyongyang, with North Korea's KCNA news agency touting the display as a show to inspire confidence in the 'ties of friendship and the genuine internationalist obligation between the peoples and armies of the two countries that were forged at the cost of blood.'
5 It's been over a year since Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un signed a military partnership agreement allowing the flow of arms and troops between the two nations.
AP
In exchange for expendable soldiers and weapons, Russia has gifted Kim at least one Pantsir mobile air defense system, a medium-range surface-to-air interceptor and anti-aircraft weapon, according to a May report from the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team, a group comprising 11 United Nation members observing the sanctions against Pyongyang.
North Korea also received a Pantsir-class combat vehicle, electronic warfare jamming devices and other military equipment to bolster Kim's defense systems, according to the report.
MSMT found that Moscow also 'supported North Korea's ballistic missile programs by providing data feedback… leading to improvements in missile guidance performance.'
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