© picture alliance / YONHAPNEWS AGENCY | Yonhap
A BBC analysis shows that at least 2,304 North Korean military personnel have died while deployed alongside Russia in the war against Ukraine. The BBC gets that information from satellite images and official photos of a new memorial museum in Pyongyang, which was solemnly opened by Kim Jong-un on April 26.
The names of fallen soldiers are inscribed on two memorial walls, each 30 meters long. By dividing the walls into sections and columns, the BBC was able to calculate the total number of names: 1,152 per wall, totaling 2,304.
North Korean state media conspicuously did not publish close-up images of the walls, but the calculation was confirmed by an independent researcher. "The memorial walls are full of the names of fallen soldiers, written in extremely small letters. Given the area and text density, the number of people listed there is likely to be in the thousands," Songhak Chung, a researcher at the Korea Institute for Security Strategy, told the BBC.
North Korea sent an estimated 11,000 soldiers to Russia in late 2024 after Ukraine invaded the Kursk region. Together with the Russians, North Korean soldiers managed to retake the region in the spring of 2025. South Korean intelligence earlier this year estimated the total number of casualties at about 6,000, with no distinction between dead and wounded.
At the opening ceremony, Kim Jong-un praised the "unparalleled courage" of soldiers who chose suicide to avoid capture. He called Russia's war against Ukraine a "just and holy war". Senior Russian guests were also present, including Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belooesov and the Speaker of the State Duma, Russia's parliament.
Picture: © picture alliance / YONHAPNEWS AGENCY | Yonhap