Russia and North Korea turn their war alliance into a propaganda tool

The scene is part of a new wave of propaganda that both North Korea and Russia are producing to exalt their partnership, which has deepened as Pyongyang has sent about 15,000 soldiers to support Russia’s war in Ukraine since last year. The footage featured prominently on a popular Russian news show that also showed video of North Koreans firing shotguns, running through trenches and tossing hand grenades.

Moscow and Pyongyang, for months, kept the North Korean troop presence in Russia under wraps. Now the two are trumpeting their wartime alliance, painting a far rosier picture of their partnership than the uncoordinated and contentious relationship described by Ukraine and its allies.

The two nuclear-armed U.S. adversaries recently broke their silence about the North Korean soldiers sent to Russia since last fall. Nearly a third of them, or about 4,700, have suffered death or injury, according to South Korea’s spy agency. In return, Kim Jong Un’s regime has received Russian drones, a satellite launcher and surface-to-air missiles, the agency said.

The North Korean soldiers played a key role in Russia’s largely successful fight to expel Ukrainian forces who had occupied Kursk, a region in southern Russia bordering Ukraine, last summer.

To Russian President Vladimir Putin, revealing the truth of North Korea’s involvement shows the U.S. and others that Russia has steadfast friends who will help them continue to fight Ukraine. The Russian president reinforced the message at Friday’s Victory Day military parade in Moscow, which celebrates the Soviet defeat of the Nazis in World War II.

This year’s Victory Day celebrations included the largest gathering of world leaders, including Chinese leader Xi Jinping, for the event since the Ukraine war started in early 2022.

North Koreans featured prominently in the marquee showcase, which Putin has used to rally the nation behind the Ukraine conflict. He shook hands with—and even embraced—several North Korean military officers, including three generals who South Korea’s spy agency said were leading the North Korean troops in Russia.

Kim, who only disclosed the news of the Ukraine war deployment to North Koreans late last month, is now bringing back home thousands of injured fighters to a heroes’ welcome. The propaganda blitz helps Kim blunt potential blowback over sending troops to fight another country’s war—given his growing aggression toward neighboring South Korea. On a Friday visit to the Russian embassy in Pyongyang, Kim said his troop dispatch was a justified exercise of sovereign rights and called those who fought “heroes and the highest representatives of the nation’s honor."

In recent days, Russian state media and pro-Kremlin military bloggers have pumped out footage—much appearing staged to analysts—depicting the North Korean soldiers as skilled and brave.

“It’s a calculated campaign to portray the North Koreans as Russia’s ‘war brothers’ whose military support won’t falter," said Chris Monday, an associate professor at South Korea’s Dongseo University who studies Russia and North Korea.

One video published by state-run media outlet Rossiyskaya Gazeta shows a Russian soldier and a North Korean serviceman each waving a flag—one Russian and one of the Soviet Union. They plant them into the ground and embrace.

The Russian news agency TASS published another video of North Korean soldiers running across open fields wielding shotguns and grenade launchers. “Until the end!" a North Korean commander shouts in Korean.

In the same TASS clip, dozens of North Koreans march through unidentified streets while singing an ode to Kim called “Friendly Father."

“Let us love Kim Jong Un!" the soldiers sing.

On Thursday, Moscow’s top envoy to North Korea said cities, villages and town plazas in the Kursk area that were “liberated" by Russia will be named after North Korean soldiers, North Korean state media reported.

The recent propaganda from Moscow and Pyongyang stands in contrast to reports from Ukrainian and South Korean officials. When first deployed, North Koreans became confused by the attack drones that swarmed front lines and were easily defeated by Ukrainians. Russian soldiers belittled their North Korean counterparts as the “ones that like eating dogs for breakfast," according to intercepted communications shared by Ukraine.

Putin and Kim struck a mutual-defense pact last summer in Pyongyang. Beyond troops, North Korea has supplied Russia with munitions and missiles. Kim recently visited a production factory, declaring North Korea’s annual shell production had quadrupled. About half of the artillery shells Russia fires at the front are made by the North Koreans, Ukrainian officials say. Russia, beyond military-tech assistance, has deepened economic ties with the Kim regime and offered diplomatic support at the United Nations.

The two sides are also ramping up cooperation in tourism, agriculture and public health. Russian officials have expressed interest in bringing back North Korean workers to help fill the country’s labor deficit.

The North Korean troops’ rendition of “Katyusha" aired on a Russian state-news program called “Vesti Nedeli," or “News of the Week." In the segment, a Russian soldier praised the North Koreans for being in excellent shape, learning Russian words quickly and proving to be good snipers.

“They’re like brothers to us," said the Russian soldier, who added he was learning some Korean phrases such as “Go forward."

To cater to the Korean palate, the Russians offer soy sauce, red-pepper flakes and tofu, according to the broadcast. A North Korean soldier interviewed by the news show said he passed the time by watching Russian films on his phone.

After finishing their song, the five North Korean soldiers shouted “spasibo," or thank you in Russian. The correspondent’s quick response closed the segment.

“And thank you," the correspondent said, “for helping us protect our land."

Write to Dasl Yoon at dasl.yoon@wsj.com