North Korean leader Kim Jong Un publicly honored an army engineering regiment returning from Russia, praising what state media described as "heroic" service during a 120-day overseas deployment that included combat engineering and landmine-clearing tasks in Russia's Kursk region. The ceremony in Pyongyang marked one of the clearest acknowledgments yet by the North of its troops' direct involvement alongside Russian forces in the war with Ukraine.
According to the Korean Central News Agency, Kim attended the welcoming event for officers and soldiers of the 528th Regiment of Engineers of the Korean People's Army, which KCNA said had been dispatched in early August. In a speech carried by the agency, Kim lauded the unit for "heroic" conduct and "mass heroism" in executing orders of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea during the mission.
State-released video showed uniformed soldiers disembarking from an aircraft, Kim embracing returned troops-including a soldier seated in a wheelchair-and senior military officials and families gathered at the ceremony. KCNA said the regiment carried out combat and engineering tasks in Kursk during Moscow's war with Ukraine.
Kim acknowledged casualties, saying nine members of the regiment were killed during the deployment. He described the deaths as a "heartrending loss" and announced state honors for the fallen, including the title of Hero of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The regiment was awarded the Order of Freedom and Independence, KCNA reported.
In remarks quoted by KCNA, Kim told the troops, "All of you, both officers and soldiers, displayed mass heroism overcoming unimaginable mental and physical burdens almost every day." He said the unit had cleared dangerous areas under combat conditions and demonstrated "absolute loyalty" to the party and the state.
In a rare admission of the specific duties performed, Kim said the engineers were assigned to clear landmines, noting that they wrote "letters to their hometowns and villages at breaks of the mine-clearing hours." He said the regiment had managed "to work a miracle of turning a vast area of danger zone into a safe and secure one in a matter of less than three months."
Russia's Defense Ministry last month said North Korean troops were playing an important role in clearing mines in Kursk after helping repel a Ukrainian incursion. South Korean, Ukrainian and Western officials estimate Pyongyang has sent about 14,000 soldiers under a mutual defense pact, with more than 6,000 killed, figures not confirmed by North Korea.
Analysts say the cooperation reflects deepening ties between Moscow and Pyongyang, with Russia providing financial aid, food, energy and military technology in return, helping the North offset international sanctions on its nuclear and missile programs.
KCNA images also showed Kim consoling families of the deceased and kneeling before portraits of fallen soldiers, placing medals and flowers nearby. Kim spoke of the "pain of waiting for 120 days in which he had never forgotten the beloved sons even for a moment," the agency reported.
