Thousands of North Koreans fought for Russia. A memorial hints at the death toll

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Thousands of North Koreans fought for Russia. A memorial hints at the death toll9 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleSoram Cheon , News KoreanandAghnia Adzkia ,East Asia Visual JournalismBBCNorth Korea has never disclosed the death toll of the operation in KurskAbout 2,300 North Korean soldiers have died fighting for Russia against Ukraine, according to a investigation based on satellite images and official photos of a new memorial in Pyongyang. South Korea estimates at least 11,000 North Koreans were sent to Russia to help recapture parts of western Kursk, after Ukraine launched a surprise incursion in Kursk in August 2024.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has previously publicly paid tribute to soldiers who died in the war - and it is believed that in return for providing soldiers, Pyongyang received food, money and technical help from Moscow. The secretive regime has never disclosed the death toll of the operation in Kursk, which Russia says it has fully reclaimed - but for the first time, a new memorial offers observable clues - here's what they tell us. Names on the wallsIn October 2025, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the construction of a museum in Pyongyang's Hwasong district to honour the troops killed in the Russia-Ukraine war.

The Details

Work started in a heavily forested area within the same month, according to a analysis of satellite images provided by Planet Labs, a US imaging company. A rudimentary shell of the 52 sq km complex was visible in December. By March, most of the exterior construction appeared to have been completed.

Landscaping and surrounding facilities were finished last month. Unveiled on 26 April, the Memorial Museum of Combat Feats at Overseas Military Operations aims to convey the "unrivalled bravery" of North Korean soldiers during their deployment to "liberate Kursk region", according to state news agency KCNA. The memorial consists of two 30m (98ft) long memorial walls engraved with names, a building and a cemetery.

A analysis of multiple images released by KCNA shows that each wall is divided into about 14 sections, which are marked by grey stone lines at the top. Names are engraved in nine of these sections, with each containing about 16 columns, according to a calculation. Eight names of the killed soldiers are inscribed in one column, close-up photos of the east wall show.

What Experts Say

With 16 columns and nine sections, that would equate to 1,152 names engraved on each wall - bringing it to a total of 2,304 across both memorial walls. Songhak Chung, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for Security Strategy, agrees with the finding. "The memorial walls are packed with the names of deceased soldiers written in extremely small characters.

Considering the surface area and text density, the number of people recorded there is likely to reach several thousand," he says.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.