Overview
- The 528th Engineer‑Sapper Regiment returned to North Korea and was welcomed at a December 12 ceremony led by Kim Jong Un.
- KCNA says the unit was formed on May 28, deployed in early August, and operated for about 120 days in combat engineering roles.
- The regiment received the Order of Freedom and Independence, First Class, and nine soldiers killed on the mission were posthumously named Heroes of the DPRK.
- North Korea describes the assignment as demining in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, a contribution Russia publicly acknowledged with thanks from the Kremlin spokesman on November 14.
- Kim used the event to laud the KPA’s morale and declared that Western militaries would not dare challenge it.