North Korean soldiers captured in Ukraine Kursk clash
Ukrainians share another recording from the front line. This time, it features drone operators targeting infantry soldiers from North Korea who are fighting alongside Russia.
The Ukrainian military presented a combat recording involving soldiers from the 17th Brigade based in Kryvyi Rih. The operations are taking place in Russia's Kursk region. Polish military expert Artur Micek has identified the infantry soldiers attacked by drones in the recording as North Koreans.
According to Western sources, more than 10,000 North Korean soldiers are supporting the Russians in the battles in the Kursk region. The General Staff in Kyiv reported on Tuesday that Ukraine's Special Operations Forces eliminated 13 North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region.
Earlier, on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed during a visit to Seoul that at least a thousand North Korean soldiers fighting against Ukraine on the side of Russia have been killed or wounded.
First captured North Korean soldiers
On Saturday, the Security Service of Ukraine reported capturing the first North Korean soldiers fighting for the Russians in the Kursk region. It was noted that this provided irrefutable evidence of North Korea's involvement in Russia's war against Ukraine.
The Ukrainians indicated that one of the North Korean soldiers was captured on 9 January by soldiers of the 84th Tactical Group of Ukraine's Special Operations Forces and the other by paratroopers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Immediately after capture, the foreigners "were provided with all the necessary medical care as stipulated by the Geneva Convention," stated the SSU in a communiqué.
The Koreans were transported to Kyiv for investigative procedures. The prisoners do not speak Ukrainian, English, or Russian, "so communication with them is carried out through interpreters of Korean, in cooperation with South Korean NIS (National Intelligence Service)."
At the time of detention, one of the foreigners had a Russian military identification card issued in the name of another person registered in the Republic of Tuva, Russian Federation. The other did not have any documents.
During the interrogation, the North Korean soldier claimed to be 20 years old, was a rifleman, and had served in the North Korean army since 2021.
"It is noteworthy that the prisoner...emphasises that he was allegedly going for training, not to fight a war against Ukraine," informs the SSU.
The second prisoner of war is a 26-year-old sniper scout who has been serving in the North Korean army since 2016.
