Zelenskyy: Ukrainians capture North Korean soldiers – photos, video

Ukrainian soldiers have captured North Korean troops in Russia’s Kursk Oblast.

Source: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy; Security Service of Ukraine (SSU)

Quote: "These are two soldiers who, although wounded, survived, were taken to Kyiv, and are talking to Security Service of Ukraine investigators.

This was no easy task: the Russians and other North Korean soldiers usually finish off their wounded soldiers and do everything they can to prevent any evidence remaining that another state – North Korea – is taking part in the war against Ukraine."

Details: Zelenskyy thanked the soldiers of Tactical Group No. 84 of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the paratroopers who captured these soldiers.

Details: The SSU stated that the prisoners do not speak Ukrainian, English or Russian, so communication is being conducted through Korean interpreters with assistance from South Korean intelligence.

When captured, one of the prisoners was found to possess a Russian military ID card issued in the name of another individual who is registered in the Republic of Tuva (Tyva) in Russia’s Far East.

During the interrogation, the North Korean soldier told the SSU that the ID card had been issued to him in Russia in the autumn of 2024 when, he said, some of North Korea's combat units were participating in week-long coordination exercises with Russian groups.

He stated that he was born in 2005, held the position of rifleman, and had been serving in North Korea's armed forces since 2021. Notably, the prisoner claimed – just as Russian military personnel did at the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine – that he had travelled there for training, not to join the war against Ukraine.

Another prisoner of war corroborated his fellow soldier's testimony. Due to an injured jaw, he provided some of his answers in writing.

Early reports suggest that he is 25 years old and has been serving as a sniper in the North Korean armed forces since 2016.

Background: On the night of 4-5 January, Ukrainian defence forces launched an offensive in Russia’s Kursk Oblast. It was reported that the Ukrainians were advancing from Sudzha towards the village of Bolshoye Soldatskoye.

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