North Korean soldiers disclose unanticipated role in Ukraine conflict
The Security Service of Ukraine has unveiled details of the interrogations of two North Korean soldiers who the Ukrainian Defence Forces captured.
According to the SSU, these are the first North Korean soldiers to be taken prisoner. Earlier, media reports, citing South Korean intelligence, mentioned one prisoner from Pyongyang who, however, died from wounds sustained during combat operations.
Captured Koreans reveal their testimony
The Security Service of Ukraine emphasized that undeniable evidence has been obtained regarding North Korea's involvement in Russia's war against Ukraine. Two North Korean soldiers are mentioned—one was captured on 9 January 2025 by soldiers of the tactical 84 group of Special Operations Forces, and the other by paratroopers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Immediately after being captured, the foreigners were given necessary medical aid and transported to Kyiv.
The prisoners do not speak Ukrainian, English, or Russian, so communication is conducted through Korean translators in cooperation with South Korean intelligence, NIS.
They didn't know they were going to war
At the time of capture, one of the prisoners had a Russian military document 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 who had the military document told the SSU officers that he received it in Russia in the autumn of 2024. According to his account, part of the combat units from North Korea underwent a week-long training with Russian occupation forces at that time.
The prisoner claims that he was born in 2005, served as a shooter, and has been in the North Korean military since 2021. He maintains that he was sent for training, not to fight against Ukraine.
The second prisoner of war, born in 1999, provided similar testimony. Some of his responses were given in writing because he has a jaw injury. He has been serving in the North Korean army since 2016 as a sniper scout.
