According to South Korean intelligence agency on Friday (December 27), a wounded North Korean soldier has been captured by Ukrainian forces. This is the first incident of a North Korean soldier being captured since North Korea sent troops to support Russia in the war against Ukraine.
The South Korean National Intelligence Service stated in a press release on Friday, “Through real-time information sharing with allied intelligence agencies, it has been confirmed that a wounded North Korean soldier has been captured.”
Reported by the Ukrainian military news site “Militarnyi” on the 26th, the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (SOF) captured a North Korean soldier during a mission in the Kursk region of Russia. They publicly released photos of the captured North Korean soldier through the instant messaging app Telegram.
The North Korean soldier appeared weary and seemed wounded in the photos. However, details about the soldier’s condition are currently unclear.
Militarnyi stated that if the information is confirmed, this would be the first North Korean soldier captured by Ukrainian forces on the battlefield.
According to reports from Yonhap News Agency, the South Korean National Intelligence Service confirmed on Friday that the North Korean soldier captured on the 26th died earlier on Friday due to severe injuries.
North Korea has deployed over 11,000 soldiers to Russia to assist the Russian military in combating Ukrainian forces.
The Ukrainian military intelligence agency (GUR) stated on Thursday (26th) that North Korean forces suffered heavy losses in the battles in Kursk and faced logistical difficulties.
GUR mentioned that the North Korean troops suffered heavy casualties in the fighting near Novoivanovka and faced supply issues, including shortage of drinking water.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed on social media platform X on the 23rd that over 3000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or injured in the battles in Kursk. This indicates that the scale of casualties among North Korean soldiers has exceeded a quarter.
It is reported that North Korean soldiers are not familiar with modern warfare and continue to use infantry tactics.
There is widespread interest in whether South Korea will be involved in the interrogation of the captured North Korean soldier. There are reports suggesting that if any captured North Korean soldiers request to defect to South Korea, they may be accepted by the South Korean government.
(This article drew references from The Guardian and Yonhap News Agency)