Ukraine has captured two North Korean soldiers in Russia’s Kursk region, marking the first time North Korean troops have been taken alive since their reported deployment last autumn, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday.
North Korean troops reportedly joined Russia’s war efforts in October, according to Kyiv and Western officials, who initially estimated their numbers at 10,000 or more.
In a statement on X, Zelenskyy said the captured soldiers were transported to Kyiv, where they are cooperating with Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), the nation’s domestic intelligence agency.
“As with all prisoners of war, these two North Korean soldiers are receiving the necessary medical assistance,” Zelenskyy said. He added that journalists would soon be granted access to interview them.
Kyiv alleges that North Korean forces are active in the Kursk region, where Ukraine launched an incursion in August. Ukrainian forces maintain control over several hundred square kilometers of territory in the area, officials said.
Additionally, North Korea has reportedly been supplying Russia with large quantities of artillery shells, a claim corroborated by Kyiv’s Western allies.
Russia has neither confirmed nor denied the presence of North Korean troops in Kursk, and neither Moscow nor Pyongyang has responded to Ukraine’s latest claims.
Ukraine previously reported capturing North Korean soldiers in combat, but those individuals were severely wounded and later died.
Zelenskyy revealed in a subsequent video address that the capture was carried out by Ukraine’s special forces, working in coordination with paratroopers.
Drone footage released by Ukraine’s special forces shows a forested area where five men in camouflage appeared to be involved in the operation. The footage, however, lacked further discernible details.
Additional video from the SBU shows the two North Korean soldiers. One soldier’s jaw was bandaged from an apparent wound, while the other was shown drinking through a straw.
A doctor featured in the video said one soldier suffered a facial injury requiring dental treatment, and the other had an open wound and a fractured lower leg.
The SBU reported that the North Korean soldiers, born in 1999 and 2005, have been serving in the North Korean armed forces since 2016 and 2021, respectively. They have been transferred to Kyiv for further questioning, which is being conducted in Korean with assistance from South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS).
Documents found on one soldier linked him to a Russian identity, while the other carried no identification, the SBU said.
Ukrainian officials stated the two prisoners are being held in accordance with international law. Authorities are conducting a criminal investigation to determine whether the soldiers violated Ukraine’s laws on waging war.
