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

North Korea has held a welcoming ceremony for engineer troops 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, Azernews reports, citing Yonhap.

The ceremony took place in Pyongyang on 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 engineer troops to Kursk to join Russian forces' work 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 "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 the 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.

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.