Memorial Reveals Death Toll of North Koreans Fighting for Russia
An estimated 11,000 North Koreans were sent to fight in Russia’s war against Ukraine, with about 2,300 soldiers reported dead, according to a BBC investigation. This figure is based on satellite images and official photos of a newly unveiled memorial in Pyongyang dedicated to those who died in the conflict.
Background and Deployment
South Korea estimates that at least 11,000 North Korean soldiers were deployed to assist Russia in recapturing parts of western Kursk after Ukraine launched a surprise incursion in the region in August 2024. The North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, has publicly paid tribute to the soldiers who died in the war. It is believed that in exchange for providing troops, Pyongyang received food, money, and technical assistance from Moscow.
Neither North Korea nor Russia has officially disclosed the death toll from the operation in Kursk, which Russia claims to have fully reclaimed. However, the new memorial in Pyongyang offers observable clues about the scale of casualties.
Details of the Memorial
In October 2025, Kim Jong Un ordered the construction of the Memorial Museum of Combat Feats at Overseas Military Operations in Pyongyang’s Hwasong district to honor the troops killed in the Russia-Ukraine war. Satellite images show that construction began the same month in a heavily forested area. By December, the basic structure was visible, and by March most exterior work was completed. Landscaping and surrounding facilities were finished by April.
The memorial was unveiled on 26 April and aims to convey the “unrivalled bravery” of North Korean soldiers during their deployment to “liberate [the] Kursk region,” according to the North Korean state news agency KCNA.
The complex includes two 30-meter-long memorial walls engraved with names, a building, and a cemetery. Analysis of images released by KCNA indicates that each wall is divided into about 14 sections, with nine sections containing engraved names. Each section has approximately 16 columns, and each column holds eight names. This suggests about 1,152 names per wall, totaling roughly 2,304 names across both walls.
Songhak Chung, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for Security Strategy, agrees with this estimate, noting the walls are densely packed with names written in very small characters. The exact number cannot be confirmed due to image resolution limits, but the estimate aligns closely with figures from South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS).
Casualty Estimates and Commemoration
In September 2025, the NIS reported about 2,000 North Korean soldiers killed and 2,700 wounded. By February 2026, the NIS updated its estimate, stating that approximately 6,000 of the 11,000 deployed personnel had been killed or wounded, without providing a detailed breakdown.
The memorial features a tiered system of commemoration. Soldiers who demonstrated “extraordinary valour” are honored with outdoor graves and tombstones, while others are commemorated with urns inside a columbarium building. Satellite images show about 140 graves on the west side of the cemetery and 138 on the east side.
The columbarium is a three-storey building likely housing funeral urns in grid-patterned compartments. It is estimated to hold at least 1,000 sets of remains, excluding space used for offices and exhibitions.
Kim Jin-mu, a former senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, suggests that those buried in the graveyard may include recovered bodies, senior officers, or individuals given special recognition for acts such as self-sacrifice.
South Korea’s Ministry of Unification states it is difficult to confirm if all soldiers killed have been memorialized on the walls. However, experts believe it is highly likely that all North Korean troops who died in Kursk are inscribed, as omitting names could cause discontent among families and undermine the memorial’s purpose.
Additional Developments and Significance
North Korean state media also reported the construction of a housing complex for Russian war veterans and bereaved families in the same district, with residents moving in since March 2026.
Cho Han-bum, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, interprets the memorial as an effort by Pyongyang to justify the deployment despite heavy casualties. He notes that Russia remains the only country with which North Korea can cooperate militarily amid its international isolation.
The memorial also signals Pyongyang’s willingness to continue military cooperation with Russia regardless of how the war unfolds.