Ukrainian security services continue to interrogate two North Korean soldiers captured in the Kursk region. Meanwhile, Ukrainian soldiers fighting in Kursk describe the North Koreans, often referred to as “cannon fodder” who will “defection as soon as they are faced with a fight,” as extremely skilled, fearless, and motivated infantrymen.
"They blew themselves up when they realized they were going to be captured," Lieutenant Colonel Yaroslav Chepurny, a spokesman for the Ukrainian military, told the Politiko portal.
Two North Korean fighters captured by Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region on Saturday were flown to Kyiv for treatment. The soldiers speak neither English nor Russian, so Ukrainian special services are working with South Korean intelligence to communicate with them. “One of them expressed a desire to stay in Ukraine. The other wants to return to Korea,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement on Sunday.

"Let's assume that Kim Jong Un remembers these citizens of his and is able to organize an exchange for our fighters who are in Russia. In that case, we are ready to hand over the soldiers. There will undoubtedly be more prisoners from North Korea."
Elite Ukrainian forces continue to battle regular Russian and North Korean troops to hold onto part of the Kursk region that Kiev captured in a surprise offensive in August. The Ukrainian military launched another counteroffensive in the region on January 5.
Ukrainian soldiers describe the North Korean soldiers as far from inexperienced “cannon fodder.” “They are young, motivated, physically fit, brave and skilled. They are also disciplined. They have everything needed for a good infantryman,” Chepurny said.
Yuri Bondar, a Ukrainian soldier from the 80th Separate Airborne Brigade, stated that North Korean soldiers have exceptionally good physical training and stable morale.
"The enemy does not surrender. They eliminate themselves in the same pattern, a grenade next to their head, and that's it. Those who remain on the battlefield are doused with flammable liquid and burned," Bondar wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday.
Bondar also confirmed that the Koreans possess an exceptionally high level of skill in the use of small arms, successfully shooting down a “surprising number” of Ukrainian drones.
"They show psychological resilience. Imagine, one runs and attracts attention, and the other shoots down a drone from an ambush with precise fire," Bondar said, emphasizing that underestimating the enemy will always lead to defeat.
“As one commander said, compared to North Korean soldiers, the Wagner Group mercenaries of 2022 seem like children. And I believe him,” Bondar added.
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