Kim paid public tribute to North Korean soldiers killed in Russia’s war against Ukraine, part of an effort to cement the two countries’ strategic defense pact.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has publicly honored his country's soldiers killed while fighting in Russia's war against Ukraine, in a rare acknowledgment by Pyongyang of its battlefield losses, the Guardian reported on July 1.

According to South Korea's Yonhap news agency, one segment featured the notebook of a deceased soldier, highlighting one of the last entries."The decisive moment has finally come," the note read, expressing loyalty to Kim with "Let us bravely fight this sacred battle with the boundless love and trust bestowed upon us by our beloved Supreme Commander.