North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, at a public ceremony, welcomed a returning army-engineering-regiment following their four-month-long deployment in Russia, marking a rare display of Pyongyang's active acknowledgement in providing Moscow with military support for its ongoing war in Ukraine.

DPRK state media reported Saturday that the 528th Regiment of Engineers had carried out combat and engineering duties in Russia's western Kursk region, including mine-clearing operations.

At a ceremony in Pyongyang on Friday, Kim praised the returning soldiers for what he called "heroic" conduct and "mass heroism" during a 120-day mission ordered by the ruling Workers' Party of Korea. Footage released by state broadcaster KCNA showed uniformed troops disembarking from an aircraft, with Kim embracing one soldier in a wheelchair as families and senior officials gathered to receive the unit.

The KCNA said the regiment was dispatched in early August and operated under live combat conditions.

Russia's Defence Ministry also separately confirmed that North Korean troops had played an important role in clearing mines after helping repel a major Ukrainian incursion into the Kursk region.

The scale of Pyongyang's support for Moscow has been the subject of growing scrutiny. South Korean, Ukrainian and Western officials say North Korea sent around 14,000 troops to Russia last year under a mutual defence pact, with more than 6,000 reported killed — figures neither confirmed nor denied by either Moscow or Pyongyang.

In exchange for providing it with manpower, Russia has been giving North Korea strong support in its military, financial, technological and energy sectors.

Additionally, the Kremlin is also giving active aid to Pyongyang in bolstering its agriculture, scientific, and medical sectors, helping the diplomatically isolated state to bypass many of its international sanctions and continue advancing its weapons programmes.

During Friday's ceremony, honouring the losses Kim confirmed that nine soldiers from the 528th Regiment had died during the mission, calling their deaths a "heartrending loss."

The General Secretary of the Workers Party of Korea said that for its bravery, the unit will be awarded the Order of Freedom and Independence, while its nine deceased personnel were to be posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the DPRK, and other state honours in commemoration of their sacrifice.

In his address, Kim said the regiment had operated in "dangerous areas under combat conditions," demonstrating "absolute loyalty" to the party and the state, and commended the troops' discipline, political indoctrination and cohesion, describing them as a model for the wider armed forces.

North Korea has increasingly honoured personnel sent to Russia, with Kim in August meeting officers involved in overseas operations.

State media has also broadcast images appearing to show him draping national flags over coffins during repatriation ceremonies for soldiers killed alongside Russian forces.