Seoul, South Korea – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un welcomed home an army engineering unit that had been deployed to Russia for 120 days, state media KCNA reported on Saturday.

In a ceremony on Friday in Pyongyang, attended by the North Korean brass and families of the soldiers and cheered on by large crowds, Kim praised the ‘heroic’ service of the soldiers during the mission, the report said.

Images of the ceremony released by KCNA showed Kim hugging the soldiers, some of whom appeared injured and in wheelchairs.

In his speech, Kim said troops helped clear mines in Russia’s Kursk region, and touched upon the ‘pain of waiting for one hundred and twenty days’ in which he ‘had never forgotten the beloved sons even for a moment’.

Kim also paid tribute to nine soldiers who were killed during the deployment and announced state honours for the fallen and the regiment.

The report marks a rare public confirmation by Pyongyang of North Korean troops fighting for Russia.

According to South Korean, Ukrainian and Western sources, North Korea sent around 14,000 soldiers to Kursk last year. More than 6,000 of them were killed.

In return, experts say Russia is giving North Korea financial aid, military technology, food and energy supplies.

DW