STORY: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un promised "a beautiful life" for the families of "martyrs" who perished fighting for Russia in the war against Ukraine, state media said on Saturday (August 30), praising the bereaved for the heroism of their sons and husbands.

North Korean state television showed Kim delivering a speech on Friday (August 29) as he hosted the families of fallen soldiers and expressed “grief at having failed to save the precious lives” of the fallen men who sacrificed their lives to defend the country’s honour, KCNA state news agency reported.

North Korean state television also showed Kim presenting framed photographs of fallen soldiers to their bereaved families who were in tears.

The meeting was the latest honouring of troops who suffered heavy casualties in Russia's Kursk region that borders Ukraine, after Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged the deployment in April after months of silence.

Kim is due to stand with Putin in China at a military parade next week marking the surrender of Japan in World War Two. It will be their third meeting in two years as they dramatically elevated a military alliance.

The two countries have not publicly disclosed the scale of the deployment or casualties suffered by North Korean troops. About 600 have been killed of a total deployment of 15,000, according to South Korea's intelligence agency.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREA (AUGUST 29, 2025) (KRT - No use North Korea)

1. VARIOUS OF NORTH KOREAN LEADER, KIM JONG UN, WALKING INTO VENUE TO MEET FAMILIES OF FALLEN SOLDIERS IN OVERSEAS MILITARY OPERATION / BEREAVED FAMILIES APPLAUDING

2. KIM APPLAUDING

3. VARIOUS OF BEREAVED FAMILIES APPLAUDING

4. VARIOUS OF KIM SPEAKING IN FRONT OF PODIUM

5. VARIOUS OF BEREAVED FAMILIES SOBBING

6. VARIOUS OF KIM SPEAKING

7. VARIOUS OF KIM BOWING / BEREAVED FAMILIES STANDING UP AND APPLAUDING

8. BEREAVED FAMILIES SOBBING AND CHEERING FOR KIM

9. VARIOUS OF KIM RECEIVING PORTRAIT OF FALLEN SOLDIER

10. VARIOUS OF KIM PRESENTING PORTRAITS OF FALLEN SOLDIERS TO THEIR BEREAVED FAMILIES AND BOWING IN RESPECT

11. VARIOUS OF BEREAVED FAMILIES CRYING WHILE LOOKING AT PHOTOGRAPH OF FALLEN SOLDIERS WRAPPED WITH NORTH KOREAN FLAG

12. KIM TOUCHING CHILD’S CHEEKS AND KISSING

13. KIM HUGGING AND KISSING CHILD

14. BEREAVED FAMILIES HOLDING PHOTOGRAPHS OF FALLEN SOLDIERS

15. VARIOUS OF CHILD TOUCHING PHOTOGRAPH OF FALLEN SOLDIER

16. KIM AND BEREAVED FAMILIES POSING FOR GROUP PHOTOGRAPH

17. BEREAVED FAMILIES BOWING TO KIM

18. KIM LEAVING VENUE

19. VARIOUS OF BEREAVED FAMILIES HOLDING PORTRAITS OF FALLEN SOLDIERS CRYING AND CHEERING TO KIM

20. KIM BOWING TO BEREAVED FAMILIES

21. VARIOUS OF BEREAVED FAMILIES HOLDING PHOTOGRAPHS OF FALLEN SOLDIERS CRYING AND CHEERING TO KIM

22. EXTERIOR OF HEADQUARTER OF CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE WORKERS' PARTY OF KOREA (WPK)