Photos of the leader were the first shared with North Koreans showing the country’s contributions to Russia’s war with Ukraine, with more deployments ahead.

Propagandistic images have been recorded in a grand tribute to the North Korean soldiers who died in the war in Ukraine. The last time Kim Jong-un had been seen with tears in his eyes was in 2020, during the early months of the pandemic.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un was visibly emotional during a ceremony commemorating soldiers who perished while fighting for Russia in Ukraine. The dictator appeared to weep as he viewed battlefield footage during an operatic performance marking the first anniversary of Pyongyang's defence agreement with Moscow.