“On January 9, 2025, one of the North Korean 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”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
The SBU notes that immediately after the capture, the foreigners were provided with all necessary medical care, as provided for by the Geneva Convention, and for the purpose of primary investigative measures, they were taken to Kyiv, where they are kept in appropriate conditions.
The captives do not speak Ukrainian, English or Russian, so communication with them takes place through Korean language translators in cooperation with South Korean intelligence.
“At the time of capture, one of the foreigners was carrying a Russian-style military ID issued in the name of another person with registration in the Republic of Tuva of the Russian Federation. And the other was without documents at all. During the interrogation, the North Korean soldier, who had the ticket, told the SBU officers that this document was issued to him in Russia in the fall of 2024. Then, according to him, part of the combat units of North Korea were coordinating with Rashist groups for one week,” the message reads.
Another prisoner of war confirmed the testimony of his “partner”.
According to preliminary data, he was born in 1999, and has been serving in the North Korean army since 2016 as a sniper-reconnaissance.
Currently, the SBU is conducting the necessary investigative measures to establish all the circumstances of the participation of the North Korean military in the Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine. The investigation is being conducted under the procedural guidance of the Prosecutor General’s Office under Article 437 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (planning, preparation, initiation and waging of an aggressive war).
The department notes that by capturing North Korean soldiers in Kurshchyna, the SBU received indisputable evidence of North Korea’s participation in the Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine.
Earlier, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi announced that the Ukrainian military in the Kursk region captured two soldiers from North Korea.
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.
NATO strongly condemned the expansion of military cooperation between Russia and the DPRK. The alliance stressed that sending North Korean troops is a dangerous escalation and violates UN Security Council resolutions. This increase in support for Moscow in its aggressive war against Ukraine causes serious concern of the international community, the statement emphasizes.
During his visit to Kyiv on November 9, the head of the EU foreign policy department, Josep Borrell, also noted that the presence of North Korean troops at the front is an additional threat, and emphasized the need for diplomatic pressure on Pyongyang.
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.