Captured NATO Vehicles Put on Display in North Korea as Russia and Pyongyang Deepen Military Alliance
North Korea officially opened the Memorial Museum of Combat Feats at the Overseas Military Operations in Pyongyang on April 26, 2026 one year to the day since Russia declared the recapture of the Kursk region, an operation in which North Korean troops played a documented combat role.
Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov attended the opening ceremony alongside State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin. Video footage released by Russia’s own Defense Ministry during the visit showed destroyed NATO-supplied vehicles including a Leopard 2A4, a French AMX-10, and an M1117 armored security vehicle displayed on the museum grounds. The vehicles, originally supplied to Ukraine, are widely assessed to have been transferred to North Korea by Russia for the exhibit.
During the visit, Belousov awarded North Korean soldiers with the Order of Courage for their role in the Kursk operation, calling them “true heroes of our time.” He also held talks with Kim Jong Un, during which both sides agreed to place military cooperation on a long-term, sustainable basis. Russia confirmed it is prepared to sign a Military Cooperation Plan covering the 2027 to 2031 period.
Russian President Vladimir Putin separately sent a message to Kim Jong Un marking the museum’s opening, thanking North Korean forces for their role in Kursk and expressing confidence that bilateral ties would continue to strengthen.
Since 2024, an estimated 15,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to support Russia’s war in Ukraine. The museum was built to honor those soldiers.
The display of Western military hardware in Pyongyang marks a significant escalation in the public messaging of the Russia-North Korea alliance with defeated NATO equipment now exhibited not only in Moscow, but on Korean soil.
Sources: Russian Ministry of Defense (official video), KCNA, TASS, Korea Herald, Kyiv Independent, Yonhap News Agency