North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has awarded soldiers who fought on the side of Russia in its war against Ukraine, the state news agency KCNA reported today, quoted by Reuters and BTA.
At the ceremony, Kim praised the "power of the heroic" North Korean army. "The liberation of Kursk (region)" proved the "fighting spirit of the heroes," he added.
Kim laid a flower at a memorial wall for North Korean soldiers killed abroad.
A concert was organized for the soldiers who returned from Russia. A banquet was also held, attended by relatives of slain soldiers, the KCNA also reported.
It was the latest public tribute to North Korean soldiers who fought in Russia, Reuters notes.
The contingent helped the Russian army push back Ukrainian forces that made a surprise incursion into the border region of Kursk last August.
Yesterday, the KCNA reported that Kim met with officers who participated in the overseas operation and paid tribute to the slain soldiers.
North Korea has sent 15,000 troops to Russia to help, about 600 of whom were killed in action, South Korean lawmakers said in April, citing the country's intelligence agency.