Kim Jong-un pays tribute to North Korean soldiers who fought in the Ukraine war.

Kim Jong-un on Friday honored fallen soldiers who died in the war in Ukraine. In images released by the country's state media, the North Korean leader kneels before portraits of deceased soldiers and embraces a survivor of the conflict who fought for Russia.

Footage of an elaborate ceremony shows an emotional Kim handing out medals, placing them next to portraits of the fallen, and comforting returning soldiers, while Pyongyang's leaders hailed the service members as "heroes" who sacrificed their youth and lives.

South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have claimed that North Korea sent more than 10,000 troops to Russia in 2024, mainly to the Kursk region, along with artillery shells, missiles, and long-range rocket systems.

According to Seoul, around 600 North Korean soldiers have died and thousands more have been wounded fighting for Moscow. At the ceremony held at the Workers' Party headquarters in Pyongyang , portraits of the fallen soldiers were displayed on stage, along with their names, according to the footage.

Kim praised the "admirable" troops "who returned home with great honor" after enduring "the hail of bullets and bombs of the life-and-death war on foreign soil," the official KCNA news agency reported.

In one of the images released by the state media, the North Korean leader is seen hugging a returning soldier, appearing overwhelmed, as the soldier placed his face against his chest. He is also shown kneeling before a portrait of a deceased soldier to pay his respects.

Kim personally awarded the title of "Hero of the DPRK (North Korea)" to commanding officers who fought in overseas operations and "performed distinguished feats," according to KCNA. North Korea only confirmed in April that it had deployed troops to support Russia's war in Ukraine and admitted that its soldiers had been killed in combat.

US President Donald Trump has held high-level talks with Russian and Ukrainian leaders in recent days in an attempt to end the conflict, but there has been little tangible progress since then.