“Military SSOs were preparing to capture soldiers from North Korea, in particular, they taught phrases in Korean, the participants of the operation said”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
According to them, the Russian troops did not allow the SSO to leave the forest with the prisoner until the end.
“They must have guessed that we want to take their fighter, and massive artillery fire began. Moreover, they shot very close and very accurately. They didn’t want us to take him from there until the last moment. One FPV drone was also involved. He didn’t hit either, but it’s good for us,” says the SSO operator with the call sign “Greek”.
Military SSOs were preparing to capture soldiers from North Korea, in particular, they were learning phrases in Korean, the participants of the operation said. Ukrainian soldiers approached the place of deployment of the Russian army group in the forest in camouflage robes, so they were invisible.
Read also: “cannon fodder” and “do not count with losses”. How the North Koreans fight and what will happen to the prisoners
This is the third attempt to capture North Korean servicemen. The first North Korean soldier who was captured was seriously wounded and died shortly after capture, the second committed suicide. Therefore, the prisoner was examined and the means with which he could harm himself were taken from him.
“Perhaps, he had a painful shock from the injury and did not yet understand what was happening. We approached him very quickly. At the same time, the comrades who were with us controlled his every movement, that is, kept him in sight so as not to harm the group. Most likely, he was disoriented,” said the SSO operator with the call sign “Greek”.
The prisoner was given an anesthetic injection, after which he was handed over to medics. According to the Ukrainian military, he really wanted to drink and eat.
The other day, Ukraine reported the capture by the Defense Forces of two soldiers from North Korea in Kurshchyna. According to the SBU, on January 9, 2025, one of the DPRK soldiers was captured by the fighters of tactical group No. 84 of the SSO, and the other by paratroopers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The capture by the Ukrainian military of two North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation was also confirmed by the intelligence agency of South Korea. The intelligence of the Republic of Korea quoted one of the captured soldiers of the DPRK as saying that “among the North Korean soldiers in Russia, there were ‘significant’ losses.” It also noted that one of the captives went without food and water for four to five days before he was captured by Ukrainian forces.
Read also: Ukraine is ready to hand over prisoners from the DPRK if Kim Jong Un organizes an exchange – Zelensky
It became known about the arrival of the first North Korean troops in Kurshchyna last fall.
According to the USA, South Korea and Ukraine, 10,000 to 12,000 North Korean soldiers arrived in Russia in October. They were involved in the war on the side of Russia, units of the DPRK are used in the Kursk region.
Moscow and Pyongyang did not confirm the direct participation of the North Korean military in the fighting.
Analysts at the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believe that the Kremlin avoids acknowledging the presence of North Korean troops in Russia’s Kursk region or their participation in hostilities there against Ukrainian forces, in order not to recognize that the Russian Federation needs foreign troops to win back its own territory.