nonstop

SEOUL, Oct. 24 (UPI) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed that his country’s alliance with Russia would “advance non-stop” and had reached a “historic peak,” as Pyongyang marked the first anniversary of its troops’ deployment to the Ukraine war, state-run media reported Friday.

Kim made the remarks Thursday at a groundbreaking ceremony in Pyongyang for a new memorial museum honoring North Korean soldiers who fought alongside Russian forces, the official Korean Central News Agency reported.

“Just one year ago from today the last group of the combatants of our expeditionary forces left for Russia,” Kim said, according to KCNA. “The sacred journey marked the beginning of a new history of militant solidarity between the DPRK and Russia.”

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea.

According to Seoul’s National Intelligence Service, North Korea has sent weapons and some 15,000 troops to Russia since 2024, primarily to help recapture lost territory in Kursk Province from Ukrainian forces. The agency said in September that around 2,000 of the dispatched soldiers have been killed.

Kim hailed the combatants as “defenders of justice” who have elevated the North Korea-Russia relationship to a “historic peak.”

“The years of militant fraternity, in which a guarantee has been provided for the long-term development of the bilateral friendship at the cost of precious blood, will advance non-stop,” he said.

Kim shoveled the first spadeful of earth to mark the start of construction, KCNA said. Senior Korean People’s Army officials and Russian diplomats, including Ambassador to North Korea Alexandr Matsegora, attended the ceremony.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Byung-sam said Friday that the memorial and Kim’s remarks were aimed at maintaining public support for the deployment.

“Overall, I believe this is intended to promote regime stability and showcase the North Korea-Russia alliance by glorifying veterans and providing commensurate benefits,” Kim said.

Moscow and Pyongyang have grown closer since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The two signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty in June of last year, which includes a defense clause that calls for mutual military assistance in the event either country is attacked. In return, North Korea is believed to be receiving financial aid and advanced military technology to bolster its illicit weapons programs.

On Wednesday, North Korea tested a “new cutting-edge weapons system” involving hypersonic missiles, KCNA reported. It was the country’s first launch in five months and came just days before U.S. President Donald Trump‘s visit to South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju next week.

The show of solidarity with Moscow comes as attention shifts toward the possibility of renewed diplomacy with Washington. Speculation has swirled about a potential Trump-Kim meeting during the visit, with the DMZ truce village of Panmunjom touted as a possible site.

Trump, who held two summits and a third brief meeting at Panmunjom with Kim during his first term, has said repeatedly that he would meet with the North Korean leader again. In September, Kim said he has “fond memories” of Trump but warned that denuclearization would be off the table in any future talks.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has expressed support for a Trump-Kim summit, urging Trump to play “peacemaker” during his White House visit in August.

On Friday, Unification Ministry spokesman Kim said that the likelihood of a meeting next week appeared low but added that it would be “meaningful.”

“I expect both North Korea and the United States will consider this an important opportunity and carefully consider the timing,” he said.

The Indian city’s Maratha Mandir has been holding daily screenings of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge since it released in 1995.

A theatre in Mumbai is celebrating 30 years of screening a much-loved Bollywood romance that has become India’s longest-running film.

On Monday, Maratha Mandir theatre in Mumbai, the financial capital of India, will mark three decades of daily screenings of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (The Bravehearted Will Take the Bride), which shot actors Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol to superstardom.

The film, widely known to fans as DDLJ, redefined modern Hindi romance and continues to draw hundreds of cinemagoers to its morning screenings with its tale of young lovers bucking tradition since its release on October 20, 1995.

“I have seen it about 30 times … and I will continue watching it,” Mohammad Shakir, 60, told the AFP news agency as he bought a ticket for 40 rupees ($0.45).

Manoj Desai, the head of the cinema located near Bombay Central Station, told AFP that weekday crowds tend to be made up of university students and young couples.

“On Sundays, you will find around 500 people, even after 30 years,” said Desai.

Clash of values

The film, which far outstrips the five-year run of the 1975 action-thriller Sholay (Embers) at another Mumbai theatre, revolves around the contrast between the more liberal values of second-generation Indians overseas and the conservative values of their parents.

Desai said it was common for audiences to break into cheers and applause during the film’s climax, when the heroine runs alongside a moving train into her lover’s arms.

“This is the goosebump moment,” Desai said. “The father letting his daughter go, saying she won’t find a better partner to spend her life with.”

It is a message that continues to resonate with younger viewers, even those who were not born when it was released.

“In our generation today, we often see transactional relationships,” Omkar Saraf, 23, told AFP. “But in this film, the hero crosses all boundaries to win his love with no expectations.

“We have watched it on television, on our mobiles, but the big screen gives us goosebumps.”

‘Cultural monument’

Desai said one die-hard fan of the movie had been coming to screenings for 20 years, while for others, the film had played a part in their own love stories.

One couple watched it while dating, before inviting Desai to their wedding. “They went abroad for their honeymoon – and came back to watch the movie,” Desai said.

The film’s daily screenings were almost discontinued in 2015, but backlash from fans meant the decision was reversed, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported.

Film critic Baradwaj Rangan said the film had enduring appeal in a country still navigating the tensions between traditional and modern values.

“It represents a certain point in Indian culture, and that is why it is still loved,” Rangan said, adding that it “perfectly captured” the friction between two generations.

“The film has become a kind of cultural monument,” he said. “I think it is going to be playing forever.”