North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held a ceremony to honor the country's troops deployed to Russia, state media reported Friday, calling them "great heroes and great patriots."

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has paid an emotional tribute to soldiers who have died fighting for Russia in its war against Ukraine, saying his ‘heart aches’ in a rare admission of military losses.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un lauded his country's "heroic" troops who fought for Russia in the waragainst Ukraine, in a ceremony where he decorated returning soldiers and consoled children of the bereaved with hugs,