N. Korea welcomes engineer troops' return from Russia's Kursk region

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attends a welcoming ceremony Friday for North Korean military engineers who returned home after being deployed to Russia's Kursk region to remove landmines amid the Russia-Ukraine war, in this photo carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency, Saturday. Yonhap

North Korea has held a welcoming ceremony for military engineers who returned home from Russia's western Kursk region after conducting a mine clearance mission, with its leader Kim Jong-un recognizing the sacrifices of nine personnel who were killed there.

The ceremony took place in Pyongyang, Friday, welcoming the return of the troops from the 528th Regiment of Engineers, who left for Kursk in early August, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Saturday.

Pyongyang sent around 1,000 military engineers to Kursk to join Russian forces working to remove mines that were planted by Ukraine soldiers. Earlier, the North deployed around 15,000 combat troops to support Russia in its war against Ukraine.

During the ceremony, Kim expressed his appreciation to the troops for their safe return while noting that there was the "heartrending loss of nine lives."

"You could 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, the task which was believed to be impossible to be carried out even in several years," Kim said.

He stressed that "the armed villains of the West, armed with whatever latest military hardware they are, cannot match this revolutionary army with an unfathomable spiritual depth."

The North's leader conferred the order of freedom and independence on the regiment and awarded the title of "DPRK Hero" and first-class orders to the deceased troops, according to the KCNA. DPRK is short for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Photos released by the KCNA showed Kim embracing wounded soldiers in wheelchairs and the families of fallen soldiers.

"One hundred and twenty days have passed since the moment when I had to dispatch you, combatants of this regiment, to the dangerous battleground; every day of this period seemed like a decade, just as when I had been waiting for the combatants of the special operations units, who had been involved in the liberation battles," Kim said, stressing that he felt the pain of waiting that he had "never experienced before."

Pyongyang had remained silent about its deployment of additional military engineers, which was previously known through Russian reports. Saturday's report confirms the details of the deployment, including the duration and number of casualties.

Observers say North Korea's emphasis on the sacrifices of its troops deployed to Russia is not only aimed at bolstering internal unity but also an indirect message to Moscow that Pyongyang expects compensation in return.

Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said the North is likely to continue highlighting its sacrifices to ensure that Russia "continues to play its role as an ally."

Earlier this year, the North Korean leader awarded commendations to the North's troops deployed for the Russia-Ukraine war, praising them as "great heroes and patriots." The North also built a memorial hall in Pyongyang to honor its troops who were killed during combat.

North Korea and Russia have been deepening military cooperation since they signed a mutual defense treaty in June last year.