Overview
- State media said Kim inspected the Memorial Museum of Combat Feats construction site on Jan. 5 and took the first shovelful of earth in a tree‑planting event.
- Photos showed his wife, Ri Sol‑ju, and daughter, Kim Ju‑ae, participating at the site, extending Ju‑ae’s recent sequence of high‑profile appearances.
- KCNA quoted Kim praising the fallen as an “eternal cornerstone” of the DPRK, with images of the dead described as “eternal stars” of the country.
- The project is North Korea’s first memorial dedicated to soldiers killed on overseas deployments, with construction launched in October in Pyongyang’s Hwasong District.
- South Korea’s intelligence agency estimates roughly 15,000 North Korean troops were sent to support Russian forces in the Kursk region and about 2,000 were killed, while a Seoul official says Ju‑ae’s prominence likely serves “socialist great family” imagery rather than confirming succession.