▲ North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) inspects the construction site for the Memorial Museum of Combat Feats at the Overseas Military Operations in Pyongyang on March 16, 2026, in this photo published the following day by the Korean Central News Agency. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
▲ North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects the construction site for the Memorial Museum of Combat Feats at the Overseas Military Operations in Pyongyang on March 16, 2026, in this photo published the following day by the Korean Central News Agency. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
▲ North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (R) inspects the construction site for the Memorial Museum of Combat Feats at the Overseas Military Operations in Pyongyang on March 16, 2026, in this photo published the following day by the Korean Central News Agency. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

NK leader-memorial museum

N. Korea's Kim inspects memorial museum for troops sent to Russia in war with Ukraine

SEOUL, March 17 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected a memorial museum under construction to commemorate North Korean troops dispatched to support Russia in its war with Ukraine, state media said Tuesday, with the museum expected to open as early as next month.

Kim "gave on-site guidance at the Memorial Museum of Combat Feats at the Overseas Military Operations under construction" the previous day, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

Construction is now 93 percent complete, the KCNA said, quoting Kim as saying the museum will be "inaugurated on the occasion of the first anniversary of the liberation of Kursk."

The first anniversary may fall in late April, as the North declared Russia's recapture of Kursk on April 27 last year.

North Korean soldiers dispatched to Russia played a pivotal role in Russia's retaking of the region bordering Ukraine.

During Monday's inspection, Kim toured the museum's interior, an area designed as a "heroes' cemetery," an exhibition area for capture weapons and other facilities under construction, the KCNA said.

He stressed the "important significance" of the project, saying "the memorial museum should be an aggregate showing the level of our architecture and fine art creation."

The leader also described the construction as a "noble work for recording in history forever the matchless bravery and mass heroism displayed by our soldiers at overseas military operations."

Since construction began in Pyongyang last October, Kim has frequently inspected the site, including in January when he, accompanied by his wife Ri Sol-ju and daughter Ju-ae, dug the ground with a shovel, drove a forklift and planted a tree.

The museum installation is part of North Korea's efforts to commemorate soldiers sacrificed in the overseas mission, a move aimed at legitimizing its troop deployment and solidifying national unity.

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[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]