NORTH KOREA – A new housing district for families of North Korean troops killed in Ukraine war was on Sunday opened in Pyongyang, according to local reports on Monday.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un took part in Sunday’s inauguration ceremony for the newly established Saeppyol Street, accompanied by his daughter Kim Ju Ae and other officials.

In remarks delivered at the event, Kim said the new street “has been built thanks to the ardent desire of our motherland that wishes that the precious lives of its excellent sons, who defended the most sacred things by sacrificing their most valuable things, will live forever.”

Calling the street “a source of honor for our generation and a pride of Pyongyang and our state,” he said it is intended for “the bereaved family members of the fallen soldiers and other combatants, as well as the combatants of the regiment of the engineers, who have been dispatched to the overseas military operations.”

“The Party and the government will take all necessary steps to ensure that these families lead a proud and worthwhile life while enjoying the preferential treatment by the state and the loving care of the whole society,” he added, according to KCNA.

Following his speech and the ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the street’s completion, Kim visited several of the residences to extend his condolences.

The report did not specify the number of homes constructed for the families.

North Korea sent around 1,000 military engineers to Russia’s Kursk region in August 2025 to assist Russian forces in clearing land mines planted during fighting with Ukrainian troops.

The deployment followed an earlier dispatch of an estimated 15,000 combat troops to support Russia’s war effort, according to South Korea’s spy agency, which claims Pyongyang lost 2,000 troops in the war.

North Korea and Russia signed a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2024, pledging mutual military support if either came under attack by a third party.