North Korean PoWs reveal Russian isolation tactics in Ukraine
North Korean prisoners of war, interrogated by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), have confirmed intelligence reports regarding their transfer to Russian territory and their complete isolation from external news sources, announced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday, 16 October, 2023.
"There is ongoing communication between the captured North Korean soldiers and the SBU investigators. The testimonies of the prisoners corroborate intelligence details about these soldiers being relocated to Russian territory, receiving training from the Russians, and their total isolation from outside information," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.
North Korean soldiers are cut off from information
In the video attached to the president's post, one of the North Korean prisoners stated that several soldiers from his country were trained in the use of Russian weaponry.
According to his account, the man arrived in Russia by ship with approximately one hundred compatriots, and then was transported by train to combat zones.
I recall that it was likely a Russian ferry, but not a military one – it was used solely for transporting goods. There were about 100 people on board," the North Korean recounted.
The prisoner reported that he joined the army at the age of 17. "After finishing school, all men usually join the military. I also joined the army, in the intelligence service, and served there continuously," he said.
He explained that he was unaware he would be participating in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and later was unsure of whom he would be fighting against. When asked about the North Korean army's losses, the prisoner responded that "there were many casualties in the battles."
To the SBU's question regarding his knowledge of the world beyond North Korea, the captured soldier replied: "Not much." He admitted, "I only know that South Korea has fewer mountains than North Korea."
North Korean soldiers in captivity
On 11 January, Zelenskyy announced that the Ukrainian army had captured two North Korean soldiers who were fighting against them in the partially Ukrainian-occupied Kursk region in Russia.
According to the authorities in Seoul, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent over 10,000 soldiers as "cannon fodder" to assist Moscow in its conflict with Kyiv, in exchange for Russian technological assistance with Pyongyang's weapons and satellite programmes, which are subject to strict international sanctions.
Earlier, on 6 January, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed during a visit to Seoul that at least a thousand North Korean soldiers, fighting in the war against Ukraine on Russia’s side, had been killed or injured.
