North Korea treats hundreds of injured Russian soldiers at no cost, says Russian envoy

Hundreds of Russian soldiers injured in the Ukraine war are being treated in North Korea, according to Alexander Matsegora, Russia’s ambassador to North Korea.

In an interview with the state-run newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta published Monday, Matsegora said the wounded soldiers are being treated in North Korean sanatoriums and hospitals.

He described the hospitality as a reflection of North Koreans’ warm attitude toward Russians, citing “a common history filled with examples of close cooperation and mutual assistance” as well as “the peculiarities of national character” shared by the two nations.

Matsegora highlighted that North Korea is fully covering the expenses for medical treatment, care and food. When Russian authorities offered to contribute to part of the costs, North Korean officials reportedly refused, feeling “sincerely offended” and insisting that such offers “should never be made again.”

He also disclosed that children of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine spent last summer at the Songdowon children’s recreation center in North Korea’s east coast city of Wonsan.

In the interview, Matsegora criticized Washington’s approach to Pyongyang, arguing that North Korea would not directly talk with the United States unless there is a fundamental shift in its policy.

While he welcomed Pyongyang’s possible decision to resume dialogue, the Russian envoy insisted that responsibility for heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula lies with the United States and South Korea.

He argued that North Korea made a “gesture of goodwill,” including dismantling its nuclear test site, returning the remains of U.S. soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War and enforcing a self-imposed moratorium on missile launches and nuclear tests for several years.

However, he claimed that these efforts yielded “practically nothing” in return.

He also accused the United States of disregarding North Korea’s concessions, saying that Washington acted as if President Donald Trump had “deigned” to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Matsegora expressed skepticism about the feasibility of Pyongyang’s denuclearization, saying that the situation has “changed dramatically” since Trump and Kim’s first summit in 2018 and that the goal “has completely lost its relevance.”

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]