SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un lauded his country’s “heroic” troops who fought for Russia in the war against Ukraine, in a ceremony where he decorated returning soldiers and consoled children of the bereaved with hugs, state media said on Friday.

Kim said in a speech quoted by KCNA: “The combat activities of overseas operational forces... proved without regret the power of the heroic (North Korean) army,” and the “liberation of Kursk” proved the “fighting spirit of the heroes.”

In front of a memorial wall listing the dead, Kim was seen hugging tearful children of fallen soldiers, with one wrapping his arms around the North Korean leader.

Along with army generals, Kim attended a concert for soldiers who had returned from Russia as well as a banquet that included bereaved family members, KCNA said.

The events were the latest public honorings of North Korean troops who fought in Russia.

Kim praised their overseas mission as “the victorious conclusion,” KCNA reported, though it was not clear whether that indicated the withdrawal of its troops from Russia.

About 600 North Korean troops have been killed fighting for Russia against Ukraine out of a total deployment of 15,000, South Korean lawmakers said in April, citing the country’s intelligence agency.

North Korea is believed to be planning another such deployment, according to a South Korean intelligence assessment.

State TV aired footage on Friday that it said was of North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia in the Kursk region, which borders northeastern Ukraine. The undated video then listed the names and ages of soldiers and said how they had died.