North Korean soldiers' capture exposes unforeseen battlefield ties
The South Korean intelligence service confirmed the capture of two North Korean soldiers by Ukraine. One of them admitted that North Korean forces suffered significant losses.
The South Korean intelligence service (NIS) confirmed reports of the capture of two North Korean soldiers by Ukrainian troops in the Russian Kursk region. According to the Yonhap news agency, one of the soldiers admitted that North Korean forces fighting on the Russian side suffered "significant" losses.
"(We) will continue to share information related to the North Korean prisoners in close cooperation with Ukraine's intelligence authorities," declared NIS, adding that the wounded soldiers are not in critical condition.
Koreans in captivity. Zelensky conveyed the information
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that the captured soldiers, despite their injuries, were taken to Kyiv and are being questioned by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). "These are two soldiers who, although wounded, survived and were brought to Kyiv, and are talking to SBU investigators," Zelensky wrote on social media.
The SBU, in collaboration with the South Korean National Intelligence Service, questioned the soldiers through translators because they do not speak Ukrainian, Russian, or English. The NIS confirmed that one of the captives admitted to "significant" losses among North Korean soldiers in Russia.
The Yonhap agency, citing the SBU, reported that one of the soldiers claimed he thought he was going for training, not to war. He had a Russian military ID card in the name of another person. The captives were born in 2005 and 1999 and have served in the military since 2021 and 2016, respectively.
