Jerin on North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia: Primarily used as cannon fodder

"The information we can gather from these individuals is important not only for operational intelligence, but also as a political tool to uncover the North Korean military's involvement in Russia's military actions," HUR representative Yevhen Jerin said.

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Detail from the Russian Kursk region, Photo: Beta/AP
Detail from the Russian Kursk region, Photo: Beta/AP
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

Ukraine's military intelligence service (HUR) said on Monday that the interrogation of two North Korean soldiers captured while fighting for Russia was continuing, while Kiev said it was ready to exchange them for Ukrainian troops held by Moscow if North Korean leader Kim Jong Un could arrange one. exchange.

HUR representative Yevhen Jerin told the Ukrainian service of Radio Free Europe (RSE) that the capture of North Korean soldiers brings "many useful opportunities" to Kyiv.

"The information we can gather from these individuals is important not only for operational intelligence, but also as a political tool to uncover the North Korean military's involvement in Russia's military actions," he said.

The capture of the two wounded soldiers, which was announced by President Volodymyr Zelensky on January 11, has not yet been confirmed by either Moscow or Pyongyang.

Last fall, North Korea sent about 11.000 troops deployed to help Russian forces in the Kursk region where Moscow has recaptured about 40 percent of the territory seized by Ukrainian troops since an invasion in August.

Jerin said North Korean soldiers appeared to be engaging in many parts of the battle in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops still control more than 500 square kilometers.

"They are primarily used as cannon fodder. However, there are various specialists among them who deal with different issues, but generally speaking, they are infantry," he said.

Earlier on Monday, South Korea's National Intelligence Service reported that more than 300 North Korean soldiers had been killed in the Kursk region and that another 2.700 were injured.

Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) said one prisoner, who said he was born in 2005, claimed he believed he was "going for training, not waging war against Ukraine."

Another man had to write his answers due to an injured jaw, the SBU said. The soldier said he was born in 1999 and was a sniper in the North Korean army.

One of the soldiers reportedly said he would rather stay in Ukraine than return to North Korea for fear of "severe punishment" in that country, saying he could face execution or a long prison sentence.

"North Korea's involvement is not just a battlefield issue – it has major diplomatic implications," Jerin said.

"The very fact that they are there affects the dynamics of the war, even though they are mostly 'cannon fodder'," he added.

Zelensky accused Russia and North Korea of ​​trying to cover up evidence of troop deployments by issuing false documents to North Korean soldiers identifying themselves as Russian citizens.

On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov again refused to comment on the situation, which Russia has neither confirmed nor denied.

"We can't comment in any way, we don't know what the truth is," he said of Ukraine's claims of the capture of two North Korean soldiers.

"We continue to discuss the possibility of exchange, which is not an easy task...but the life of every Russian soldier is important to us," Peskov added.

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