MOSCOW, April 24. /TASS/. Pyongyang appreciates the tradition of Korean-Russian friendship and solidarity, established in the fight against a common enemy, the DPRK’s ambassador to Russia, Sin Hong-chol, told TASS an interview on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s visit to Russia.

"We cherish the tradition of Korean-Russian friendship and solidarity, which has developed in the spirit of military comradeship in the fight against a common enemy," Kim stressed. He pointed out that the monuments to Soviet soldiers continued to be carefully looked after in North Korea.

The Soviet Union made a decisive contribution to the defeat of Japan during World War II and the liberation of the Korean Peninsula from the Japanese occupation. Monuments to Soviet soldiers who gave their lives for the liberation of Korea have been erected in the DPRK’s capital Pyongyang and in Chongjin, Haeju, Nampo, Dongnim, Sinuiju, Wonsan, Hamhung, and Rason. The Liberation Monument in Pyongyang is the central one. It was erected shortly after the Red Army defeated Japan’s Kwantung Army on the Korean Peninsula in 1945. Golden inscriptions in Russian and Korean read: "The great Soviet people defeated Japanese imperialism and liberated the Korean people. The blood shed in the battles for the liberation of Korea further strengthened the friendship between the Korean and Soviet peoples."

According to the Russian embassy, 1,375 Soviet citizens, including 991 military servicemen, are buried in mass graves and separate graves on the territory of the DPRK.

In recent years, hundreds of monuments to Red Army soldiers who lost their lives during World War II have been destroyed in a number of European countries. The Russian authorities have repeatedly pointed out that some European countries try to rewrite history. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia must ensure the preservation of the truth about the Great Patriotic War and oppose attempts to falsify its history.