Zelenskyy releases two prisoners aged 20-26
“After being transported from Kursk, the security department is interrogating me.”
NIS: Hand and jaw injuries are not life-threatening.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed the faces of two North Korean soldiers on the 11th (local time), saying that Ukrainian troops had captured two North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region in southwestern Russia. This is the first time that the Ukrainian military captured a North Korean soldier dispatched to support Russia and disclosed his identity and statement in detail. The Korean National Intelligence Service also said on the 12th, “Through real-time cooperation with Ukrainian intelligence authorities, we confirmed that the Ukrainian military captured two North Korean soldiers at the Kursk battlefield in Russia on the 9th,” and added, “These North Korean soldiers were captured with injuries and are currently in danger of life. “There is no problem,” he said.
President Zelenskyy announced on his Telegram account on the 11th, “Two captured North Korean soldiers were transported to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, in an injured condition and are being interrogated by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).” He then claimed that capturing North Korean soldiers “was not an easy task,” and that “this is because the Russian and North Korean soldiers usually try to conceal the fact that North Korean soldiers participated in the war by executing wounded comrades and destroying evidence.” According to a photo posted by President Zelenskyy on Telegram, two North Korean prisoners of war are currently receiving treatment at a detention facility. One soldier was lying on a bed with both hands wrapped in bandages, and another soldier was sitting in military uniform with a bandage wrapped around his chin due to an injured jaw.
According to Ukrainian media RBC Ukraine, two North Korean soldiers were captured by soldiers and paratroopers from the 84th Tactical Group of the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces on the 9th. The soldier who injured his hand was born in 2005 and has been serving as a rifleman in the North Korean army since 2021. This soldier was carrying a Russian military ID card, which stated that he was from the Republic of Tuva, southern Siberia, Russia. RBC Ukraine reported, “During the investigation, this soldier emphasized that ‘he was told that he was moving for training, not for war with Ukraine.’” The National Intelligence Service also reported that the soldier “stated that he learned of the deployment of troops only after arriving in Russia.” The soldier with the injured jaw had difficulty speaking, so he responded in writing and revealed that he was born in 1999 and had served as a sniper and scout in the North Korean army since 2016.
“North Korean soldiers were caught without water for 4-5 days… Statement of ‘significant loss of troops’”
[우크라 북한군 생포]
Zelenskyy reveals two captured North Korean soldiers
“Human mine detector-acts as a bullet catcher… “He marches even if his colleagues die, and he even blows himself up right before he is captured.”
Estimated casualties of 3,800 out of 11,000… Some say, “Acquiring North Korean military combat experience is a threat.”
“I was rejected (from the main university) and couldn’t eat or drink anything for 4 to 5 days before I was caught.”
One of the two North Korean soldiers that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced as captured on the 11th (local time) said that North Korean troops suffered significant losses during the battle with Ukraine. This North Korean soldier, who is 20 years old and began his military service as a rifleman in 2021, stated that he arrived in Russia in November last year and received military training for only one week before being sent to the battlefield.
It is known that about 11,000 North Korean troops are deployed in the Kursk region, a fierce battleground in southwestern Russia, and President Zelenskyy recently claimed that the casualties amounted to 3,800. Foreign media outlets are pointing out that the North Korean military is being used as ‘human mine detectors’ to identify the location of land mines in this area, or that they are being deployed without being able to adapt to modern warfare using unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), making them a ‘cannon fodder’. However, there is also an analysis that the North Korean military, which suffered initial damage, may acquire practical capabilities that can threaten regional security as it gains combat experience.
● “North Korean troops advance even if their comrades die”
According to Ukrainian media RBC Ukraine, when the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) captured two North Korean soldiers, they each had wounds on their chin and lower body. They were transferred to Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, and detained in accordance with international law on prisoners of war, and are currently being investigated. Since North Korean prisoners of war cannot speak foreign languages such as Russian, they are communicating with the SBU through Korean interpreters with the cooperation of the National Intelligence Service.
Ukrainian authorities plan to speed up their investigation into North Korea’s military involvement in the Russian war. RBC Ukraine explained, “The investigation is being conducted in accordance with Article 437 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and the procedural guidelines of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, which relate to the planning, preparation, initiation and conduct of offensive warfare.” Their policy for handling new recruits is not yet known.
Testimonies that provide insight into the actual condition of North Korean troops dispatched to the Russian battlefield are also coming out one after another. It is known that North Korean soldiers try to avoid being taken prisoner so as not to harm their families back home. Mr. Olekh (30), a soldier of Ukraine’s 8th Special Operations Regiment, told the Washington Post (WP) on the 11th that 400 to 500 North Korean soldiers attacked a Ukrainian military post in December of last year, and captured one North Korean soldier who was injured at the time, but was seriously injured. It is said that he died soon after. Other soldiers reported that they took the extreme step of using grenades to avoid being taken prisoner.
In the actual battle, the North Korean army appears to have been more aggressive than the Russian army, resulting in relatively greater troop losses. Mr. Olekh said, “The Russian army retreats when it takes damage, while the North Korean army continues to move forward.” “In this situation, Russian troops are freed from the most dangerous missions and can perform other tasks on the front line,” he said. It can be interpreted that the Russian military is effectively engaging the North Korean military in a war of attrition.
Another Ukrainian military commander who engaged in combat with North Korean troops made a similar claim. Lieutenant Colonel Leopard of the Ukrainian 33rd Separate Assault Battalion ‘Big Cats’, which engaged in combat with North Korean troops in the village of Makhnouka in the Kursk region, told The Times of England on the 9th, “The North Korean military uses human mine detectors.” The soldiers walk through the mine field in a single file, spaced 3 to 4 meters apart, and when a land mine explodes and casualties occur, the medical staff collects the body, and then the soldier in the back row takes the place and passes through the mine field. Lt. Col. Leopard said, “Our battalion captured one of the guides, but the North Korean soldiers refused to capture him alive and tried to fight to the death or run away.”
● “North Korean military’s combat power increases, it’s just a matter of time”
Although the North Korean army suffered significant damage in the early stages of the Battle of Kursk, there were also observations that the North Korean army’s combat power would increase as time passed. Accumulating combat experience could be of great help to the North Korean military, which has had virtually no combat experience since the end of the Korean War. According to the Associated Press, Gliv Voloskyi, a military analyst at the CBA Initiative Center, a Ukrainian think tank, said, “It is only a matter of time before the North Korean military acquires technologies that improve its combat effectiveness,” adding, “If you combine the discipline and training (which the North Korean military already has), “It could be a significant military capability,” he said. Dorothy Camille Shay, the U.S. deputy ambassador to the United Nations, said at the UN Security Council on the 8th, “North Korea is benefiting significantly from Russia’s military equipment, technology, and experience,” adding, “This has further strengthened its ability to wage war with its neighbors.” “It is being strengthened,” he said.
Paris = Correspondent Jo Eun-ah [email protected]
Reporter Lee Ki-wook [email protected]
Reporter Shin Gyu-jin [email protected]