Reuters
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North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency reported on Saturday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended a welcoming ceremony for the army’s engineering corps, which returned home after a mission in Russia.
In a speech carried by KCNA, Kim praised the “heroic” actions and “collective heroism” of the officers and soldiers of the Korean People’s Army’s 528th Engineer Regiment (KPA), who carried out orders issued by the Workers’ Party of Korea during their 120-day overseas deployment.
Footage released by North Korea showed uniformed soldiers disembarking from the plane, Kim embracing a soldier in a wheelchair, and soldiers and officials gathering to greet the troops.
According to KCNA, the unit was deployed in early August to carry out combat and engineering missions in Russia’s Kursk region during the war between Moscow and Ukraine.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said last month that North Korean forces, which helped Russia repel a major Ukrainian invasion of the western Kursk region, are now playing a key role in clearing land mines in the region.
Under a mutual defense pact between the two countries, North Korea sent about 14,000 soldiers to fight alongside Russia in Kursk last year, killing more than 6,000, according to South Korean, Ukrainian and Western sources.
Kim said nine soldiers died in the line of duty, describing the deaths as a “heartbreaking loss” and announced that the regiment would be awarded the Order of Freedom and Independence. According to KCNA, the nine soldiers who died in action were awarded the title of Hero of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, among other national honors.
According to reports, a welcoming ceremony was held in Pyongyang on Friday and was attended by senior military officials, ruling party leaders, families of soldiers and a large audience.
In his speech, Kim said the regiment cleared dangerous areas under combat conditions and demonstrated “absolute loyalty” to the party and country. He also praised the military’s political indoctrination, discipline and unity, calling their performance an exemplary military.
North Korea publicly honors soldiers who fought for Russia in the Ukraine war. In August, Kim praised military officers involved in overseas operations during a meeting with them, but state media earlier showed him draping national flags over the coffins of soldiers who died alongside Russian forces during what appeared to be repatriation.
