North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met with the families of soldiers killed fighting for Russia against Ukraine and offered condolences for their "unbearable pain", state media said Saturday.

Pyongyang has not confirmed the number of its soldiers that died fighting for Russia, though Seoul estimates around 600, with thousands more wounded.

South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have said the North sent more than 10,000 soldiers to Russia in 2024 -- primarily to the Kursk region -- along with artillery shells, missiles and long-range rocket systems.

Kim delivered a speech to the families on Friday, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, after meeting with only some of them last week at another public ceremony awarding honors to the soldiers.

"I thought a lot about

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