North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hailed the return of a military engineering unit from Russia’s Kursk after a monthslong demining effort in the area that left nine DPRK soldiers dead, state media announced, following Moscow and Pyongyang jointly repelling Ukrainian forces from the region earlier this year.

Kim attended a large welcome ceremony for the Korean People’s Army (KPA) 528th Engineering Regiment after completing an “overseas mission” on Friday, the Rodong Sinmun party daily reported the following day alongside Kim’s speech confirming the unit’s deployment to the Kursk region.