North Korean military engineers have begun clearing Russia’s Kursk region of landmines left by Ukrainian forces, Moscow announced Friday, the first official confirmation of the start of the operation announced earlier this year. 

“Alongside Russian sappers, military specialists from the DPRK are carrying out a highly complex mission to clear the area,” the Russian defense ministry’s Red Star daily reported on Friday.

The newspaper also praised the DPRK’s previous troop deployment to the border area earlier this year, stating that special units of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) “made a significant contribution to defeating the enemy” and driving Ukrainian forces