North Korea Is Caring for Russia’s Wounded Soldiers, Envoy Says

North Korea is restoring its Cold War-era comradeship with Russia by looking after Russian soldiers wounded in the war against Ukraine, as well as hosting Russian children who lost parents in the fighting, according to Moscow’s ambassador to Pyongyang.

The presence of hundreds of wounded Russian troops, as well as an unspecified number of Russian war orphans, in North Korea was revealed by Alexander Matsegora, the Russian ambassador to North Korea, in an interview published on Sunday by the state-run news outlet Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

Mr. Matsegora made the revelation, which could not be independently corroborated, while emphasizing the friendly ties between Russia and North Korea. It is also notable as one of the first public admissions by either side of North Korea’s practical support for its ally’s war effort. The bilateral relations have deepened rapidly since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine three years ago, and North Korean troops have recently started fighting alongside the Russian forces.

North Korea has suffered thousands of casualties in the war. But it has also been taking care of injured Russian soldiers, according to Mr. Matsegora.

“One of the clear examples of our brotherly ties is the rehabilitation of hundreds of soldiers wounded in the special military operation at Korean sanitariums and clinics,” the envoy said, referring to the war against Ukraine.

Last year, North Korea also received Russian children whose fathers died on the battlefield, housing them in the Songdowon children’s recreation center in Wonsan, on the east coast of North Korea, he said. The North Koreans were looking after the Russian soldiers and children free of charge, he said. The Russian envoy offered no details about the children, including how long they planned to stay in North Korea.