KIM Jong-un has broken ground on a new “sacred sanctuary” to the hundreds of North Korean troops killed fighting for Vladimir Putin’s bloody war in Ukraine.
The so-called Memorial Museum of Combat Feats will “pray for the immortality of the proud heroes” who “performed undying feats in the overseas military operations”.
Flanked by Russian diplomats and weeping families of the dead, Kim clasped soldiers’ faces in his hands and declared that his “brotherhood” with Moscow would “advance non-stop.”
The chilling show of defiance is proof that Pyongyang’s evil alliance with the Kremlin is tightening even as Russian forces reel under new US sanctions.
Tyrant Kim hailed his dead troops as “true patriots” and boasted that North Korean fighters had spent a year in Russia’s Kursk region, claiming they had “destroyed the fiendish neo-Nazi invaders with their staunch spirit.”
After Kim sent as 15,000 soldiers to fight Putin’s war last year, at least 600 North Koreans have died and thousands more wounded, according to South Korean estimates.
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Many perished in the same region where Moscow’s struggling army has begged for reinforcements.
The new sanctuary in Pyongyang – complete with sculptures, paintings, and “bloody battle” scenes – will enshrine their memory.
Kim said it marked “a sacred sanctuary dedicated to the immortality of true patriots.”
Russia’s ambassador to Pyongyang, Aleksandr Matsegora, attended the ceremony, standing stiffly beside Kim as he proclaimed that ties between their two rogue states were “rising to its historic peak.”
The “blood ties” between Russia and North Korea, Kim declared, were stronger than “the United States and its Western bloc.”
Last year, the two dictators signed a “strategic partnership” pledging mutual military support if either came under attack — a move that alarmed Washington and Seoul.
North Korea has since shipped drones, shells, and entire battalions to Russia’s frontlines.
But as Kim glorified his fallen soldiers, his partner-in-crime Mad Vlad Putin was reeling.
President Donald Trump unleashed a shockwave through Moscow this week, blacklisting Russia’s two oil giants — Rosneft and Lukoil — in what Putin fumed was an “unfriendly” act.
The sanctions freeze Russian oil assets, choke off billions in war funding, and threaten foreign banks that help Moscow skirt restrictions.
The move sent global oil prices soaring five percent overnight and left Russia’s energy exports in chaos.
India — Putin’s last major buyer — is now preparing to slash imports.
A rattled Putin insisted “dialogue is always better than war” but could barely hide his fury as he accused Trump of trying to “pressure” Russia.
Kremlin mouthpiece Dmitry Medvedev sneered that Trump had “fully embarked on the warpath against Russia.”
Even as Putin’s economy buckles, his fighter jets are testing NATO’s patience — violating Lithuanian airspace on Thursday before being chased off by Spanish warplanes.
Moscow called it a “training flight,” but the reckless provocation came just hours after Trump slammed the door on planned peace talks in Budapest, accusing Putin of a “lack of serious commitment” to ending the war.
“I have good conversations,” Trump said.
“And then, they don’t go anywhere. They just don’t go anywhere.”
