Reuters reported on Tuesday that a North Korean art exhibition in Moscow, Russia, prominently featured paintings commemorating the role of North Korean troops in the Ukraine conflict.
The exhibition, titled, Art of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea: The Great Nation of the People, opened with a large photograph at the entrance showing Russian President Vladimir Putin shaking hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Over 100 paintings and artworks were displayed, including key pieces that depicted North Korean and Russian forces engaging in combat with Ukrainian troops in Kursk.
One notable painting, titled, In the Same Trench, showed Russian and North Korean soldiers celebrating victory against the backdrop of their respective national flags.
Reuters noted that North Korea’s troop deployment, once a closely guarded secret, has now become a source of public pride for both nations.
In the exhibition’s guestbook, a visitor named Alexander wrote that he pays his respects to our North Korean comrades who liberated Kursk.
According to Reuters, many of the artworks evoked the style of traditional socialist propaganda.
The exhibition featured paintings of smiling families admiring Soviet-era apartment blocks dubbed luxury housing, images of missile launches, and scenes of cheerful farmers harvesting crops.
Depictions of North Korean forces fighting in the Korean War were also on display.
One controversial piece demonized U.S. troops, showing an American soldier threatening a bloodied North Korean schoolgirl with an axe in a painting titled, Blood-Thirsty U.S. Military Beasts.
Reuters reported that North Korean diplomats dressed in black suits were seen keeping a vigilant presence around the artworks.
Last year, North Korea deployed troops to the western Russian region of Kursk to support Russian forces. British military intelligence estimates that of the approximately 14,000 North Korean troops sent to Russia, over 6,000 have become casualties.