North Korean soldiers returning from a tour overseas in Ukraine have been rewarded with prestigious titles in an elaborate ceremony in Pyongyang.
Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un bestowed honors on the military personnel who aided the Russian invasion during a ceremony in Pyongyang, followed by a banquet with officials of the Workers’ Party of Korea.
The autocrat said the awards were an “expression of gratitude and valuable appreciation of our Party, state and people for the historic deed of perfectly implementing the political decision made by the Party and government for the destiny and future of the country and of defending the great honor safeguarded by all generations of [North Korea] for decades,” according to state-run outlet Chongnyon Chonwi.
Kim Jong Un honored “commanding officers and combatants who performed feats in overseas military operations” with the honorific title of “Hero of the Republic” — a prestigious designation that is known to greatly benefit recipients politically and materially.
Senior officials in the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea then hosted the recipients at Mokran House, a luxurious event space for dinners held by North Korean elites.
According to the North Korean state-run outlet Naenara, “the banquet hall was filled with boundless emotion, joy and excitement of the commanding officers and combatants honored with high glory and happiness of their lives under the care of the motherland and the great brilliant commander they have yearned for even in a dream.”
WPK Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Pak Jong Chon, who also serves as the secretary of the Party Central Committee, reportedly offered a toast to the glory of North Korean soldiers wounded or killed in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“At the decisive battlefields for defending the absolute authority of the Party Central Committee and safeguarding the dignity and honor of [North Korea] and the appellation and tradition of the [military], officers and men of the [military] wrote the immortal combat records at the cost of their blood, created a new great history of the [military] with their militant courage and legendary military merits that would pale the heroic stories in the human history of wars and added a new glorious page to the history of war victory of [North Korea] in gold letters,” Pak said, according to Naenara.
Honorific titles such as “Hero of the Republic” or the even more prestigious “Hero of Labor” typically open doors to better residences, medical care, career opportunities, and more.
North Korea is the only sovereign country sending troops to Ukraine to aid Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military campaign.
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Pyongyang’s loyalty to the Kremlin has benefited it greatly, with multiple bilateral agreements signed to bolster mutual defense and increase economic cooperation — opportunities critical for a highly sanctioned state such as North Korea.
Kim Jong Un has promised to faithfully back Putin in whatever future decisions the Russian leader makes about the resolution of the conflict.
