Kim Praises Soldiers Who Opt Suicide To Evade Capture In Ukraine

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has praised soldiers who committed suicide while fighting against Ukrainian forces ​in Russia's Kursk region, confirming an extreme battle policy. 

North ‌Korea sent an estimated 14,000 troops to fight with Russian forces in Kursk region. South Korean, Ukrainian and Western officials said they suffered ​heavy casualties with more than 6,000 North Korean soldiers ​killed in the fighting.

Mounting evidence, including from



intelligence ⁠reports and testimonies of defectors, has indicated that North Korean ​soldiers resorted to self-detonation or other forms of suicide rather ​than be captured. 

In a speech addressing Russian officials and bereaved families at a completion ceremony for a memorial honouring North Korean soldiers, Kim mentioned for ​the first time the lengths to which they had ​gone, praising them as "heroes", according to a transcript published by North Korean ‌state ⁠media KCNA on Monday.