North Korean leader Kim Jong Un played up the sacrifice of Soviet soldiers who fought Japanese forces in Korea as a cornerstone of burgeoning ties between Moscow and Pyongyang, ahead of the 81st anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule. 

Just as in 2024 and 2025, Kim visited the Liberation Tower on Friday to pay tribute to Soviet soldiers who took part in the liberation of the Korean Peninsula in 1945, the Rodong Sinmun party daily reported the following day. The DPRK and ROK celebrate Liberation Day on Aug. 15.

Kim was joined by his wife and daughter,