North Korean soldier captured by Ukrainian troops is dead, South Korean intelligence says
South Korean intelligence, based on information from a "friendly nation", has reported that a wounded North Korean soldier captured by Ukrainian troops has died.
Source: South Korean news agency Yonhap; BBC News Russian
Quote from South Korean intelligence: "We confirmed through a friendly nation's intelligence organisation that a North Korean soldier, captured alive on 26 December, died a short while ago as (his) wounds worsened."
Details: A photo of the soldier believed to have been captured had previously appeared on social media. However, Ukraine has not issued an official statement regarding the issue.
An AFP source within South Korean intelligence confirmed that the North Korean soldier had been captured by Ukrainian forces, though the exact location of his capture remained unknown.
Previously: Operatives from Ukraine's Special Operations Forces released the first and second parts of decrypted notes from a notebook taken as a trophy from a North Korean soldier killed in action in Russia's Kursk Oblast.
Background:
- On 19 December, South Korean MP Lee Seong-kweun, citing intelligence data, said that 100 North Korean soldiers fighting on the side of Russia had been killed and about 1,000 others wounded in Kursk Oblast.
- The Pentagon predicts an increase in casualties among North Korean forces that continue to take part in the fighting in Kursk Oblast.
- The South Korean military reports that Pyongyang appears to be preparing to deploy additional troops and military equipment to Russia, possibly including kamikaze drones, in support of Moscow's war against Ukraine.
- On 24 December, following a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that early estimates indicate over 3,000 North Korean military personnel have been killed or wounded in Kursk Oblast.
- South Korean intelligence confirmed on Friday, 27 December, that Ukrainian troops had captured a wounded North Korean soldier fighting alongside Russian forces.
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