Kim Jong-un Confirms North Korean Troops Cleared Mines for Russia in Kursk Region

North Korea dispatched troops earlier this year to clear landmines in Russia’s Kursk region, leader Kim Jong-un confirmed in a speech carried by state media, marking a rare public acknowledgement by Pyongyang of the missions undertaken by its deployed soldiers, according to The Guardian on December 13.

Speaking at a welcome ceremony for a returning engineering regiment, Kim praised the troops’ service, noting that they wrote “letters to their hometowns and villages at breaks of the mine-clearing hours,” according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Kim claimed nine members of the regiment were killed during the 120-day deployment, which began in August. He posthumously awarded the fallen soldiers state honours to “add eternal lustre” to their bravery.

“All of you, both officers and soldiers, displayed mass heroism overcoming unimaginable mental and physical burdens almost every day,” Kim said, adding that the unit had “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.”

Images released by KCNA showed Kim smiling as he embraced returning soldiers at the ceremony in Pyongyang, some of whom appeared injured and were seated in wheelchairs. Other photographs depicted Kim consoling the families of the deceased and kneeling before a portrait of a fallen soldier, placing what appeared to be medals and flowers beside images of the dead.

According to South Korean and Western intelligence agencies, North Korea has sent thousands of troops to support Russia’s nearly four-year full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Analysts say Moscow is providing Pyongyang with financial assistance, military technology, and food and energy supplies in return, enabling the diplomatically isolated country to bypass stringent international sanctions imposed over its nuclear and missile programmes.

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War in Ukraine

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Earlier, it was reported that the US Senate is reviewing new evidence suggesting that Ukrainian children abducted by Russia may have been forcibly transferred to North Korea, during a hearing held on December 3 by Senators Lindsey Graham and Brian Schatz.

At the session, Ukrainian journalist and media adviser Ostap Yarysh said that Ukrainian human rights organizations had uncovered information indicating that some of the children taken by Russian forces were sent to North Korea against their will.

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