ISTANBUL

North Korea has begun construction of a museum to honor fallen soldiers who fought for Russia in the war with Ukraine, state media reported on Friday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un led the groundbreaking ceremony of what would be called the Memorial Museum of Combat Feats at the Overseas Military Operations, in Pyongyang.

Aleksandr Matsegora, the Russian ambassador to North Korea, also attended the ceremony on Thursday, KCNA reported.

It said Kim “personally chose its site in the Hwaseong area, symbolic of modern Pyongyang, and took special measures to form elite construction units.”

Earlier in August, Kim had unveiled a plan to build a street in Pyongyang to honor the fallen soldiers.

He had said “Saebyol Street," which means morning star, will be built in the Taesong district of Pyongyang.

In April this year, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) told lawmakers that at least 600 North Korean troops had been killed while fighting alongside Russian forces against Ukraine.

It said Pyongyang had likely suffered more than 4,700 casualties since its troops began participating in the conflict last year.

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

During a meeting with the North Korean leader in Beijing last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin had said the "courageous" North Korean soldiers joined the Ukraine war at the initiative of Kim.