North Korea’s Kim Jong Un is playing a familiar role: grief-stricken, defiant, and ever attuned to the demands of spectacle. As of July 2nd, Kim is commanding the world’s attention by publicly mourning North Korean troops killed fighting alongside Russia in Ukraine—a first-of-its-kind display that signals just how far Pyongyang is willing to go in cementing its military alliance with Moscow.
The images are everywhere: Kim Jong Un, tearfully draping coffins with the North Korean flag, flanked by solemn officials and an army in full display mode. Footage aired by North Korean state media and reported widely in the West shows Kim openly weeping over the bodies of his fallen troops, their deaths the result of fighting in Russia’s war against Ukraine—a conflict in which North Korea’s direct involvement has moved from shadowy speculation to undeniable fact.
This display of grief marks a new chapter for North Korean propaganda. Analysts quoted in The Guardian and The Independent see the spectacle as a calculated signal to Moscow and the world: Kim is no longer content to play the junior partner in his relationship with Vladimir Putin. The Wall Street Journal confirms Kim’s mourning is public and political, designed to reinforce the legitimacy of North Korean sacrifices on a distant battlefield.
As Western coverage notes, the scale and choreography of the funerals have stunned even seasoned observers of North Korean statecraft. The Telegraph and The Times document Kim’s personal attendance at the ceremonies, a rare show of public vulnerability that North Korean media have spun into a display of paternal leadership and nationalist zeal.
But the real message is aimed at the Kremlin. The Moscow Times and Kyiv Independent underline the strategic logic: by showcasing the costs of its military alliance, North Korea is asking for a greater stake in postwar arrangements and material support from Russia. Pyongyang is also reminding Washington and its allies that sanctions and diplomatic isolation have not prevented North Korea from making itself indispensable to Putin’s war effort.
The cost of that alliance is written in blood—and in spectacle. ABC News and Al Jazeera report that Kim’s public mourning has already been repackaged as proof of patriotic sacrifice, while Fox News notes the dictator’s tears are as much about messaging as mourning. On the home front, the regime is using the moment to justify further mobilization and repression—arguing that national sacrifice is not only necessary, but heroic.
Meanwhile, the international community is left with a chilling reminder of the stakes. With Kim pledging to deepen ties to Russia and new reports of “military gifts” exchanged with Putin, the authoritarian playbook is once again on full display: public pain, private deals, and a war that increasingly knows no borders.
As the world watches Kim’s tears, the grim calculus is clear—North Korea’s dictator is betting that spectacle, sacrifice, and ever-closer ties to Putin will keep his regime both feared and indispensable, no matter how many coffins it takes.