Earlier this year, North Korea dispatched troops to clear mines in Russia’s Kursk region, as stated by leader Kim Jong Un in a speech broadcast on Saturday by state media. This marks a rare acknowledgment from Pyongyang regarding the perilous missions assigned to its soldiers in that area.
According to South Korean and Western intelligence agencies, Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops to assist Moscow in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine, which has now lasted nearly four years.
Analysts suggest that Russia is providing North Korea with financial assistance, military technology, food, and energy supplies in exchange for this support, enabling the diplomatically isolated nation to circumvent stringent international sanctions imposed on its nuclear and missile programs.
In his remarks, Kim praised the return of an engineering regiment, noting that they had written “letters to their hometowns and villages during breaks in their mine-clearing operations,” as reported by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Kim mentioned that the regiment experienced the “heartrending loss of nine lives” during their 120-day deployment that commenced in August, as he spoke at a welcome ceremony on Friday, according to KCNA.
He conferred state honors upon the fallen soldiers to “add eternal lustre” to their acts of bravery.
Kim remarked, “All of you, both officers and soldiers, exhibited mass heroism by overcoming unimaginable mental and physical challenges almost daily.”
The troops managed to “achieve the remarkable feat of transforming a vast danger zone into a safe and secure area in less than three months.”
North Korea only acknowledged in April that it had deployed troops to aid Russia and that its soldiers had lost their lives in combat.
Photographs released by KCNA depicted a smiling Kim embracing returning soldiers, some of whom were in wheelchairs, during the grand ceremony held in Pyongyang on Friday.
