North Korea sent troops to clear mines in Russia's Kursk region earlier this year, the country's leader Kim Jong Un said in a speech carried by state media, a rare acknowledgement by Pyongyang of the deadly tasks assigned to its soldiers in the region.
North Korea has sent thousands of troops to fight for Russia as it presses ahead with its nearly four-year invasion of Ukraine, according to South Korean and Western intelligence agencies.
Analysts say Russia is giving North Korea financial aid, military technology, food and energy supplies in return, allowing the diplomatically isolated nation to sidestep tough international sanctions on its nuclear and missile programmes.
Hailing the return of an engineering regiment, Mr Kim noted that they wrote "letters to their hometowns and villages at breaks of the mine clearing hours", according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
During a speech at a welcome ceremony yesterday, KCNA reported that Mr Kim said the regiment suffered the "heartrending loss of nine lives" during the 120-day deployment that started in August.
He awarded the deceased 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," Mr Kim said.
The troops had been able to "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", he added.
Images released by KCNA showed a smiling Mr Kim embracing returned soldiers, some of whom appeared injured and in wheelchairs, at the ceremony in Pyongyang yesterday.
One of the soldiers looked visibly emotional as Mr Kim held his head and hand while he sat in a wheelchair in a military uniform.
Other images showed Mr Kim consoling families of the deceased and kneeling before a portrait of a fallen soldier to pay his respects, placing what appeared to be medals and flowers beside images of the dead.
The North Korean leader also mentioned the "pain of waiting for 120 days in which he had never forgotten the beloved sons even for a moment".
In September, Mr Kim appeared alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at an elaborate military parade in Beijing.
Mr Kim did not respond to an offer from US President Donald Trump to meet during his trip to Asia in October.
North Korea 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, images released by KCNA showed an emotional Mr Kim embracing a returned solider who appeared overwhelmed, burying his face in the leader's chest.
In early July, state media showed a visibly emotional Mr Kim honouring flag-draped coffins, apparently of the deceased soldiers returning home.
