SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea has opened a memorial museum for its soldiers killed while fighting for Russia against Ukraine, with top leaders of North Korea and Russia pledging a push for greater cooperation.
In April 2025, North Korea and Russia announced that their soldiers fought together to repel a Ukraine incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region. The two countries haven’t disclosed exactly how many North Koreans soldiers were deployed, but South Korea’s intelligence service estimated last year that North Korea sent about 15,000 troops and 2,000 of them were killed.
The North’s Korean Central News Agency reported Monday the museum’s inaugural ceremony was held in Pyongyang on Sunday to mark the one-year anniversary of the end of an operation to liberate the Kursk region. KCNA said leader Kim Jong Un attended the ceremony along with top visiting Russian officials including Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the State Duma, and Defense Minister Andrei Beloussov.
During the ceremony, Kim threw dirt over the remains of one dead soldier and laid flowers before others whose bodies were already placed in a mortuary, before he and Volodin and Beloussov left messages on the guest book, according to KCNA.
In a speech, Kim said the spirits of dead North Korean soldiers will remain as “a symbol of the Korean people’s heroism” and support “a victorious march by the Korean and Russian people.” He praised the North Korean and Russian forces for thwarting what he called a U.S.-led Western “hegemonic plot and military adventurism” on the Russian-Ukraine front.
Meeting with Beloussov separately, Kim said North Korea will fully support the Russian policy of defending its sovereignty and security interests, KCNA reported. Russia’s state news agency, Tass, cited Belousov as telling Kim that Russia was ready to sign a Russian-North Korean military cooperation plan for the 2027-2031 period.
In a letter to Kim read by Volodin during the ceremony, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the museum “will undoubtedly be a clear symbol of the friendship and solidarity” between the two countries. Putin said he was convinced that the two countries would continue to strengthen their comprehensive strategic partnership, according to KCNA.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Kim has made Moscow the priority of his foreign policy by supplying troops and conventional weapons. In return, North Korea was believed to have received economic and other assistance from Russia. South Korea, the U.S. and their partners worry Russia may transfer high-tech technologies that can enhance North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.
Experts say North Korean troops sent to the war earlier became easy targets for drone and artillery attacks due to their lack of combat experience and unfamiliarity with the terrain. But Ukrainian military and intelligence officials have assessed that the North Koreans were gaining crucial battlefield experience and were key to Russia’s strategy of overwhelming Ukraine by throwing large numbers of soldiers into the battle for Kursk.
Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung contributed to this report.
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, from second right to left, its leader Kim Jong Un, Russian parliament speaker Vyacheslav Volodin and Russian Defense Minister Andrei Beloussov share a light moment as they attend an inaugural ceremony of a memorial museum in Pyongyang, North Korea Sunday, April 26, 2026. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, from front right to left, its leader Kim Jong Un, Russian parliament speaker Vyacheslav Volodin and Russian Defense Minister Andrei Beloussov attend an inaugural ceremony of a memorial museum in Pyongyang, North Korea Sunday, April 26, 2026. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid's surprise return only 17 days after having an appendectomy fell flat and did nothing to help the Philadelphia 76ers stay competitive with Boston.
Embiid had 26 points and 10 rebounds in 34 minutes, a gutsy effort in his latest return from injury that wasn't enough to overcome the Celtics in their 128-96 Game 4 win Sunday night for a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.
“You try to do the best job possible with the conditions,” Embiid said. “You've still got to go out there and try and play and win a basketball game. We didn't do that tonight. We didn't play well.”
Embiid — who received a roaring ovation in pregame introductions — wasted little time scoring in his first game since April 6. The two-time NBA scoring champion sank two free throws for the Sixers' first points of the game, added a monster two-handed jam and scored the team's first eight points.
Embiid withered after the fast start and missed seven straight shots before converting a three-point play in the third quarter. That cut the Sixers’ deficit to 23 points.
Embiid was listed as doubtful to start the day and was upgraded to questionable about 90 minutes before the scheduled tipoff. Embiid returned to the court wearing a protective brace around his midsection, and was cleared to play about 40 minutes before the start of Game 4.
The 32-year-old Embiid averaged 26.9 points and 7.7 rebounds this season after playing in only 19 games in 2024-25. He hasn’t appeared in as many as 40 games in a regular season since 2022-23, when he averaged a career-best 33.1 points and earned MVP honors.
Embiid had an appendectomy in Houston — he said he had unspecified complications after the surgery — on April 9 after Philadelphia’s star big man was stricken with appendicitis overnight.
Embiid provided nothing more than an early emotional lift to a Sixers team that was a 7 1/2-point home underdog to the Celtics, according to oddsmakers.
“I thought he had a lot of good looks,” coach Nick Nurse said. “A lot of them went in and out. That wasn't certainly helping our offense.”
The Celtics won Game 1 by 32 points and the Sixers responded with a surprise 111-97 win in Boston in Game 2. Tyrese Maxey scored 31 points and shot the Sixers into a fourth-quarter lead in Game 3 before Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown took over down the stretch for the Celtics in a 108-100 victory.
Embiid joined Maxey, rookie standout VJ Edgecombe, Paul George and Kelly Oubre Jr. in the starting lineup.
Embiid's absence in the play-in tournament win over Orlando and the first three playoff games against Boston continues a trend of injury-plagued postseasons.
Such as:
In 2024, Embiid played in the playoffs through a bout with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis. He wore sunglasses to the podium after he scored 50 points in the Sixers’ Game 3 win over the Knicks and said at the time he was dealing with various symptoms such as blurred vision and dry eyes.
A year earlier, Embiid missed a playoff game in two series because of a sprained right knee.
In 2022, the Sixers won 51 games under coach Doc Rivers and had a great chance at a deep playoff run until Embiid suffered a right orbital fracture and a concussion when he was hit in the face by Toronto’s Pascal Siakam. He also suffered a torn ligament in his right thumb. Embiid missed two games in a second-round series against Miami. The Sixers lost both games and the series, 4-2.
Embiid missed one game in the 2021 playoffs with a torn meniscus in his right knee.
He missed one playoff game in 2019 and two in 2018 with injuries.
Embiid said he no choice but to push through his latest postseason malady headed into Game 5 Tuesday night in Boston.
“You probably go through a couple of days where you feel bad for yourself,” Embiid said. “Then it's right back to it. Are you going to give up or are you going to try and come back as early as possible?”
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Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid (21) goes up for a shot during the first half of Game 4 against the Boston Celtics in a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Boston Celtics' Neemias Queta, left, cannot get a shot past Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid during the first half of Game 4 in a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid reacts during the first half of Game 4 against the Boston Celtics in a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid goes up for a dunk during the first half of Game 4 against the Boston Celtics in a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
