Kim Jong-un admits North Korean troops clearing landmines for Russia | North Korea
North Korea sent troops to clear mines in Russia’s Kursk region earlier this year, leader Kim Jong-un said in a speech carried by state media on Saturday; This is a rare acknowledgment of the deadly missions assigned to Pyongyang’s deployed soldiers.
North Korea has sent thousands of troops to support Russia’s nearly four-year invasion of Ukraine, according to South Korean and Western intelligence agencies.
Analysts say Russia is allowing North Korea to evade harsh international sanctions over its diplomatically isolated country’s nuclear and missile programs in exchange for financial aid, military technology, food and energy supplies.
Welcoming the return of an engineering regiment, Kim noted that they wrote “letters to their hometowns and villages during mine clearing hours,” according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
According to KCNA, Kim said in his speech at the welcome ceremony on Friday that nine members of the regiment died during the 120-day mission that started in August.
He awarded the late state honors to “add eternal brilliance” to their courage.
“All of you, both officers and soldiers, have demonstrated mass heroism by overcoming unimaginable mental and physical burdens almost every day,” Kim said.
The troops had managed to “perform a miracle, transforming a large danger zone into a safe and secure zone in less than three months.”
Footage published by KCNA showed Kim smiling as he embraced returning soldiers, some of whom were injured and in wheelchairs, at a ceremony in Pyongyang on Friday.
One of them looked visibly emotional as Kim held her head and hand as she sat in a wheelchair wearing a military uniform.
Other footage shows Kim consoling the families of the dead and kneeling in front of a portrait of a fallen soldier to pay his respects, placing what appear to be medals and flowers next to pictures of the dead.
The North Korean leader also talked about “the pain of waiting for 120 days without forgetting his beloved children even for a moment.”
In September, Kim attended an elaborate military parade in Beijing with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Kim did not respond to Donald Trump’s offer to meet during the US president’s trip to Asia in October.
North Korea only confirmed in April that it had deployed troops to support Russia and that its soldiers had been killed in combat.
At a previous ceremony in August, footage released by KCNA showed an emotional Kim embracing a returning soldier and, looking overwhelmed, burying his face in the leader’s chest.
In early July, state media showed Kim being visibly emotional as he honored flag-draped coffins in memory of fallen soldiers returning home.
