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North Korea has acknowledged for the first time that its soldiers were deployed to clear landmines in Russia’s Kursk region, with leader Kim Jong Un praising their actions in a speech carried by state media on Saturday.
According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim spoke at a welcome ceremony in Pyongyang on Friday for an engineering regiment that had returned from a 120-day deployment that began in August.
During the mission, nine North Korean soldiers were killed, Kim revealed, describing their work as involving extreme physical and mental strain.
Western and South Korean intelligence agencies have long reported that Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops to assist Russia in its nearly four-year war against Ukraine.
Analysts believe Moscow has been compensating North Korea with financial assistance, military technology, and food and energy supplies, enabling the isolated state to soften the impact of international sanctions linked to its nuclear and missile programmes.
In his address, Kim said the troops cleared mines under constant danger, noting that they wrote letters home during brief breaks in their work.
He praised what he called their “mass heroism,” saying they had transformed a large hazardous zone into a safe area in less than three months despite the risks involved.
Kim posthumously awarded state honours to the soldiers who died, saying the recognition would add “eternal lustre” to their bravery.
KCNA reported that he also spoke emotionally about the 120 days of waiting for the regiment’s return, saying he never forgot the “beloved sons” deployed abroad.
Photographs released by state media showed Kim warmly greeting the returning soldiers, some of whom appeared injured and were seen in wheelchairs.
In several images, the North Korean leader was shown embracing visibly emotional troops, consoling the families of those killed, and kneeling before portraits of fallen soldiers to lay flowers and what appeared to be medals.
North Korea only formally confirmed in April that it had sent troops to support Russia and that some had been killed in combat.
Earlier footage released in July showed Kim paying tribute to flag-draped coffins, believed to contain the remains of soldiers who died during overseas deployments.
The latest acknowledgement marks one of Pyongyang’s most explicit public admissions of the dangerous roles played by its forces in support of Russia since the start of the Ukraine war.
