Video shows 2015 state funeral for top N.Korean soldier, not general who 'died fighting for Russia'

"The body of Kim Yong Bok, commander-in-chief of North Korea's invasion of Ukraine for Russia, has returned to North Korea. Kim Jong Un held a state funeral for him," read the simplified Chinese sticker text on a clip shared on X on December 22, 2024.

"Seems like the entire army has been wiped out! Ha ha!" read the post, which repeated the same claim.

The 30-second clip shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and three other people bowing towards a coffin being carried on an armoured vehicle as it drives off.

Kim Yong Bok is a senior general in North Korea's army known to be accompanying its troops deployed to Russia to fight against Ukraine, and has been blacklisted by the United States and the European Union (archived links here and here). 

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Screenshot of the false X post, captured on December 23, 2024

According to South Korean officials, Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops to reinforce the Russian military, including to the Kursk border region, where Ukrainian forces seized territory earlier this year (archived link). 

Seoul has said more than 1,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded while fighting in Russia's war against Ukraine, while Kyiv put the total at over 3,000.

The video also circulated on Douyin, as seen in the screenshots below, as well as in English-language posts on X here.

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Screenshot of false Douyin posts, captured on December 23, 2024

The clip, however, shows a North Korean state funeral in 2015. 

Reverse image and keyword searches found the footage shared in the false posts correspond to those used in a November 12, 2015 report on Asia Today, a news programme by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, about the state funeral of Korean People's Army marshal Ri Ul-sol (archived link).

The footage of Kim Jong Un and other officials bowing towards the coffin can be seen at the report's five-minute, 19-second mark, which features a chyron that read: "North Korea holds state funeral for people's army marshal Ri Ul-sol". 

Below is a screenshot comparison of the falsely shared clip (left) and the CCTV broadcast (right):

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Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared clip (left) and the image broadcasted by CCTV (right)

The state funeral for Ri was widely reported, including by AFP in a report on November 9, 2015 that said the official died of lung cancer (archived link). 

The Korea Times also published a photo of Kim Jong Un and the three other officials bowing from a different angle in its report about the state funeral (archived link).