Ukraine has captured two wounded North Korean soldiers fighting on behalf of Russia in a Russian border area, South Korean intelligence said, confirming a report from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday.
Seoul’s National Intelligence Service (NIS). told AFP it has “confirmed that the Ukrainian military captured two North Korean soldiers on the Kursk battlefield in Russia on January 9.”
The confirmation comes after Zelenskyy said in a post on the Telegram messaging app that the two captured North Korean soldiers had been injured and taken to Kiev, where they are communicating with Ukrainian security services SBU.
SBU released a video showing the two prisoners on beds in prison cells. The authenticity of the video could not be independently verified.
In this unverified photo shared by the Ukrainian military, an apparently captured North Korean soldier sits in a bed in a cell with injuries. (Ukraine military handout)
A doctor interviewed in the SBU video said one soldier suffered a facial wound, while the other soldier had an open wound and a fractured lower leg. Both men received medical treatment.
In this unverified photo shared by the Ukrainian military, an apparently captured North Korean soldier lies in a bed in a cell with injuries. (Ukraine military handout)
SBU also said that one of the soldiers had no documents at all, while the other had one Russian military ID card in the name of a man from Tuva, a Russian region bordering Mongolia.
The Ukrainian military says North Korean soldiers are outfitted in Russian military uniforms and carrying fake military IDs, a plan that Andrii Yusov, spokesman for Ukraine’s military intelligence, said could mean Moscow and “its representatives at the U.N. can deny facts. “
Despite Ukrainian, American and South Korean claims that Pyongyang has sent 10,000 to 12,000 troops to fight alongside Russia in the Kursk border area, Moscow has never publicly acknowledged that North Korean Armed Forces.
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While reports of their presence first emerged in October, Ukrainian forces did not confirm their involvement on the ground until December.
On Thursday, Zelenskyy estimated the number of North Koreans killed or injured at 4,000, although U.S. estimates are lower, at about 1,200.
Soldiers are seen at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea, on October 12, 2020. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin, File)
Despite North Korea’s losses and initial inexperience on the battlefield, Ukrainian soldiers, military intelligence and experts suggest that firsthand experience will only help them further develop as a fighting force.
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“For the first time in decades, the North Korean army is gaining real military experience,” Yusov said. “This is a global challenge – not just for Ukraine and Europe, but for the whole world.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
