Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukrainian forces operating in Russia's Kursk region have captured two North Korean soldiers, marking the first time that military personnel from the isolated state have been taken alive during the conflict.
"Our soldiers have captured North Korean military personnel in the Kursk region. Two soldiers, though wounded, survived and were transported to Kyiv, where they are now communicating with the Security Service of Ukraine," Zelensky said Saturday in a statement on X, which include several images of the injured soldiers.
According to Ukrainian and Western intelligence, approximately 11,000 North Korean troops are stationed in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces have held several hundred square kilometers since a cross-border incursion in August last year. Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reported that over 1,000 North Korean forces were killed or wounded in Kursk during the last week of December.
The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) released a video purportedly showing the captured soldiers. In the footage, an SBU spokesperson stated that one soldier was captured on January 9 by Ukrainian special forces, and the other by paratroopers. The soldiers are reportedly being held in conditions compliant with international law.
Zelensky said of the two Korean soldiers who had been captured: "This was not an easy task: Russian forces and other North Korean military personnel usually execute their wounded to erase any evidence of North Korea's involvement in the war against Ukraine."
The video shows the two North Korean soldiers resting on bunk beds in a cell. One has a jaw wound, while a doctor in the video noted that the second soldier has a fractured leg. The SBU confirmed that communication with the captives is conducted through Korean interpreters, in collaboration with South Korean intelligence.
One of the captured soldiers was carrying a Russian military ID card issued under the name of a person from Tuva, Russia, which he claimed was provided last autumn. The soldier reportedly revealed that North Korean units had received only one week of training with Russian troops before deployment. The second captive carried no identification.
According to the SBU, one of the soldiers believed he was being sent to Russia for training rather than combat. The agency also claimed that some North Korean troops are inadequately prepared for front-line operations.
Ukraine continues its offensive in the Kursk region, where its forces initially launched a surprise incursion last summer. On Sunday, Kyiv's troops renewed their efforts, targeting a Russian military command post near the town of Belaya. While Ukraine's forces made significant advances in Kursk during the summer—the first foreign ground incursion into Russia since World War II—Russian forces have largely stabilized the front lines in recent weeks.
