PYONGYANG, North Korea — A newly unveiled memorial in the North Korean capital has provided the first tangible clues about the heavy toll suffered by thousands of soldiers sent to fight alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, according to a detailed investigation by the BBC. The Memorial Museum of Combat Feats at Overseas Military Operations, dedicated to North Korean troops who died in the Kursk region, features two long walls engraved with the names of the fallen, suggesting at least 2,300 soldiers perished in the conflict. Unveiled on April 26 in Pyongyang's Hwasong district, the site honors those who participated in Russia's effort to reclaim territory seized by Ukrainian forces in a surprise incursion last August.
The memorial's construction was ordered by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in October 2025, amid reports of significant casualties among the deployed troops. Satellite imagery analyzed by the BBC, using data from U.S.-based Planet Labs, shows that work began that same month in a forested area of the district. By December, the basic structure of the 52-square-kilometer complex was visible, with exterior construction largely complete by March and final landscaping finished last month, according to the analysis.
North Korean state media, through the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), described the memorial as a tribute to the "unrivalled bravery" of soldiers who helped "liberate [the] Kursk region." The site includes two 30-meter-long memorial walls, a main building, and a cemetery. Each wall is divided into about 14 sections, with names engraved in nine of them. Close-up photos released by KCNA reveal that each column on the walls holds eight names, leading the BBC to calculate approximately 1,152 names per wall, for a total of 2,304 across both.
Songhak Chung, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for Security Strategy, corroborated the BBC's estimate in an interview. "The memorial walls are packed with the names of deceased soldiers written in extremely small characters," Chung said. "Considering the surface area and text density, the number of people recorded there is likely to reach several thousand." He noted the challenges in pinpointing an exact figure without higher-resolution images but emphasized the density of the engravings.
South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) has provided estimates that align closely with the memorial's implications. In September 2025, the agency reported that about 2,000 North Korean soldiers had been killed and another 2,700 wounded since their deployment to Russia. By February of this year, the NIS updated its assessment, stating that roughly 6,000 of the estimated 11,000 personnel sent to the front lines had been killed or wounded, though it did not break down the figures further. Neither Pyongyang nor Moscow has released official casualty numbers for the North Korean contingent.
The deployment itself stemmed from a deepening military alliance between North Korea and Russia, forged amid Pyongyang's international isolation. South Korean officials estimate that at least 11,000 North Korean troops were dispatched to assist in recapturing parts of western Kursk following Ukraine's incursion in August 2024. In exchange, reports suggest North Korea received food, financial aid, and technical assistance from Russia, including help with its own weapons programs.
Kim Jong Un has publicly honored the fallen soldiers on multiple occasions, including praising those who "self-blasted" to avoid capture by Ukrainian forces, according to state media reports. Earlier this year, officials cited figures of about 1,000 North Koreans killed in the Kursk fighting, though these were lower than subsequent estimates. The memorial's design incorporates a "tiered system of commemoration," as described by Korean research firm SI Analytics, with outdoor graves for those showing "extraordinary valour" and urns in a columbarium for others.
Satellite images from early April, provided by SI Analytics, show approximately 140 graves on the west side of the cemetery and 138 on the east side. A gray building in the center is believed to be the columbarium, potentially housing at least 1,000 urns. Kim Jin-mu, a former senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, explained that the graves likely contain recovered bodies of senior officers or those recognized for self-sacrifice. "Those buried in the graveyard may include recovered bodies, senior officers, or individuals who have been given special recognition, including those who acted in self-sacrifice," Kim said.
Chung added details about the columbarium's capacity: "The entire wall appears to be filled with grid-patterned storage compartments for remains. The [columbarium] is a three-storey building, and even excluding offices and exhibition areas, the indoor repository alone would be able to house at least 1,000 sets of remains." South Korea's Ministry of Unification has expressed caution, stating it is "difficult to confirm" whether all deceased soldiers are memorialized on the walls.
However, Kim Jin-mu believes the inscriptions are comprehensive. "The memorial is intended to reward those who have sacrificed for the state and maintain public support," he said. "Omitting names could risk discontent among bereaved families and undermine its purpose." This approach underscores the regime's efforts to portray the deployment as a heroic endeavor, despite the reported losses.
In the same Hwasong district, North Korean state media reported the construction of a housing complex for Russian war veterans and families of the bereaved, with residents beginning to move in since March. Cho Han-bum, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, interpreted these developments as a strategic move by Pyongyang. "Pyongyang's decision to build a monument dedicated to the killed troops reflects an effort to justify the deployment following large casualties," Cho said. He added that for North Korea, isolated from most global partners, "Russia is the only country it can co-operate militarily with in its current state."
The memorial also signals North Korea's commitment to ongoing collaboration with Russia, regardless of the war's trajectory. Cho noted that it demonstrates Pyongyang's "willingness to continue military cooperation with Russia 'regardless of how the war unfolds.'" Russia has claimed to have fully reclaimed the Kursk region, though Ukrainian officials dispute the extent of their withdrawal.
Background on the North Korean involvement traces back to a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty signed between Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin in June 2024, which included mutual defense provisions. Since then, North Korea has supplied Russia with artillery shells and other munitions, but the troop deployment marked a escalation. U.S. and South Korean intelligence have tracked the movements, with reports of North Korean units suffering high attrition rates due to inexperience with modern warfare tactics.
Experts differ slightly on the full scope of casualties. While the BBC's analysis points to around 2,300 deaths based on the memorial walls, the NIS's February update encompasses both killed and wounded without specifics. South Korean officials have not commented further on the memorial's revelations, but the Ministry of Unification's statement highlights the verification challenges posed by North Korea's opacity.
As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its third year, the North Korean memorial stands as a somber testament to the global ripples of the conflict. It not only quantifies the human cost for one of the war's more unexpected participants but also illustrates the lengths to which isolated regimes will go to forge alliances. With construction of related facilities ongoing, Pyongyang appears poised to integrate this chapter of overseas military engagement into its national narrative, potentially paving the way for future deployments.