Overview
- Kim Jong Un attended a Pyongyang ceremony for the KPA’s 528th Engineer Regiment after a 120-day overseas deployment that began in early August.
- KCNA said the unit carried out combat and mine-clearing tasks in Russia’s Kursk region, with nine personnel killed and some returning wounded.
- The regiment received the Order of Freedom and Independence, and the fallen were posthumously named Heroes of the DPRK with first‑class orders.
- North Korea’s acknowledgement adds detail to wider reported deployments, with foreign agencies citing thousands of troops in Russia and offering divergent casualty estimates that remain disputed.
- The showcase follows a party plenary where Kim praised overseas operations and vowed to root out officials’ “evil practices,” as the WPK readies a congress expected early next year.