North Korean troops in Russian war: Ukraine captures first soldiers
Ukrainians share another recording from the front. This time, it shows the actions carried out by drone operators against infantry soldiers from North Korea fighting alongside Russia.
The Ukrainian military showcased a combat recording of soldiers from the 17th Brigade from Kryvyi Rih. The operations are being conducted in Russia's Kursk region. As Polish military expert Artur Micek noted, the infantry soldiers attacked by drones in the recording are North Koreans.
According to Western sources, more than 10,000 North Korean soldiers are supporting the Russians in the battles in the Kursk region. The General Staff in Kyiv reported on Tuesday that Ukraine's Special Operations Forces eliminated 13 North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region.
Earlier on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed during a visit to Seoul that at least a thousand North Korean soldiers fighting against Ukraine on the side of Russia have been killed or wounded.
First captured North Korean soldiers
On Saturday, the Security Service of Ukraine reported capturing the first North Korean soldiers fighting for the Russians in the Kursk region. They stated that in this way, they obtained irrefutable evidence of North Korea's involvement in Russia's war against Ukraine.
The Ukrainians mentioned that one of the North Korean soldiers was captured on January 9 at 1:00 p.m. ET by soldiers of the 84th Tactical Group of Ukraine's Special Operations Forces, and the other by paratroopers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Immediately after capture, the prisoners were "provided with all the necessary medical care as stipulated by the Geneva Convention" stated the SSU in a communiqué.
The Koreans were transported to Kyiv for investigative procedures. The prisoners do not speak Ukrainian, English, or Russian, "so communication with them is carried out through interpreters of Korean, in cooperation with South Korean NIS (National Intelligence Service)."
At the time of detention, one of the foreigners had a Russian military identification card issued in the name of another person registered in the Republic of Tuva, Russian Federation. The other did not have any documents.
During the interrogation, the North Korean soldier claimed to be 20 years old, was a rifleman, and had served in the North Korean army since 2021.
"It is noteworthy that the prisoner...emphasises that he was allegedly going for training, not to fight a war against Ukraine," informs the SSU.
The second prisoner of war is a 26-year-old sniper scout. He had served in the North Korean army since 2016.
