Kim paid public tribute to North Korean soldiers killed in Russia’s war against Ukraine, part of an effort to cement the two countries’ strategic defense pact.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has publicly honored his country's soldiers killed while fighting in Russia's war against Ukraine, in a rare acknowledgment by Pyongyang of its battlefield losses, the Guardian reported on July 1.

State media images showed leader Kim Jong Un honoring the flag-draped coffins of North Korean soldiers killed helping Russia fight Ukraine, as Seoul's defense ministry said Tuesday it saw no signs of further troop deployments yet.