Seoul confirmed that Ukraine captured two North Korean soldiers

Zelenski posted photos of soldiers he claims were captured on Telegram. He did not provide evidence that they were North Korean, but South Korea's statement lends credence to the claim

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Photo: Shutterstock
Photo: Shutterstock
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

South Korea confirmed Ukraine captured two North Korean soldiers a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his security agency was interrogating two fighters captured in Russia's Kursk region.

"Through real-time cooperation with Ukraine's intelligence agency... [South Korea's National Intelligence Service] confirmed that the Ukrainian military captured two North Korean soldiers on Jan. 9 at the Kursk battlefield in Russia," Seoul said in a statement.

On January 11, Zelensky said that Ukrainian investigators were questioning two North Korean soldiers captured by North Korean forces in Russia's Kursk region.

Zelenski posted photos of soldiers he claims were captured on Telegram. He did not provide evidence that they were North Korean, but South Korea's statement lends credence to the claim.

On January 11, the Ukrainian SBU intelligence service released a video of two men in hospital beds, one of whom had injuries to his arms and the other to his jaw.

Ukrainian officials said the captives spoke through interpreters working with South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS).

The SBU said one prisoner, who said he was born in 2005, claimed he believed he was going for training and not for war against Ukraine.

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

The NIS also said that one of the captured soldiers claimed to have received training in the Russian army after arriving in the country in November.

"At first he believed he was going for training, but upon arriving in Russia he realized he had been deployed," South Korea's intelligence agency said.

They added that one of the prisoners "had been without food and water for four to five days before he was captured by Ukrainian forces."

These events occurred after Ukraine launched new attacks in Kursk to prevent Russia from regaining territory. A lightning-fast Ukrainian offensive captured large parts of the Kursk region in August 2024. It was the largest invasion of Russian soil since World War II.

Last fall, North Korea sent about 11.000 troops to the Kursk region to support Russian forces there. Moscow has regained about 40 percent of the territory, but Ukrainian troops still control more than 500 square kilometers in Kursk, and Pyongyang's troops are reportedly suffering massive casualties.

Zelensky said on December 23 that more than 3.000 soldiers, or about a quarter of the North Korean special forces sent to Russia, had been killed or wounded, although he did not provide evidence.

White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters on December 27 that North Korean forces were suffering heavy losses on the front lines, adding that about 1.000 of their soldiers had been killed or wounded in the Kursk region in one week.

"It is clear that the Russian and North Korean military leaders are treating these soldiers as expendable and sending them into hopeless attacks against Ukrainian defenses," Kirby said.

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