Kim Jong Un sees youth as 'vanguard' of state goals amid Ukraine war

(Patria) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met with delegates of the ruling party's Youth League congress in Pyongyang, state news agency KCNA reported, as the government again highlighted young people as key to domestic mobilization and its military role in Russia's war against Ukraine.

The 11th Congress of the Socialist Patriotic Youth League, a political gathering held once every five years to mobilize citizens aged approximately 14 to 30, concluded last week with mass rallies, torchlight parades, and a gala performance in the capital, Reuters reports.

Kim told delegates on Saturday that the youth are the "vanguard" in advancing state goals, calling the League a key force for implementing party decisions. He called for tighter organization and ideological discipline and posed for a group photo with participants, KCNA said.

In a letter published on Friday, the ruling Workers' Party explicitly linked youth loyalty to Pyongyang's involvement in the Ukraine war, telling the congress that young soldiers sent on overseas operations had "become bombs and flames" in defense of the country's honor.

North Korea has sent an estimated 14,000 soldiers to fight alongside Russian forces in the Kursk region, according to South Korean, Ukrainian, and Western officials, who say more than 6,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed.

Kim unveiled a new monument in Pyongyang last month honoring soldiers killed in Ukraine.

The emphasis on youth control comes amid an intensified crackdown on foreign cultural influence, with exposure to South Korean music, movies, and slang treated as a serious political offense, while Kim presents youth policy as a pillar of social stability.

He has also increasingly appeared in public with his young daughter, believed to be named Ju Ae, at important state events.