North Korea has awarded state commendations to the troops it deployed to assist Russia’s war against Ukraine.

According to the North’s state Korean Central News Agency on Friday, a ceremony to recognize the commanding officers and combatants in the overseas operation unit of the Korean People’s Army took place at the headquarters of the Central Committee of the Workers Party.

In a speech at the ceremony, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called the troops “great heroes and great patriots,” saying their victory overseas was a “great feat.”

Kim added that the ever-victorious Korean People’s Army lived up to the reputation it has enjoyed throughout its 70-odd-year history.
 
He also said a memorial hall and a monument to the combatants will be built in Pyongyang.