According to South Korea’s intelligence agency, a North Korean soldier suspected to be the first arrested while helping Russia in its war in Ukraine has been reported dead after being taken alive by Ukrainian forces.
Earlier on Friday, South Korea’s spy agency confirmed reports from Ukraine that an injured North Korean soldier had been captured by Ukrainian forces. It was probably the first time that a North Korean soldier has been captured since Pyongyang sent combat troops to back Russian forces in Ukraine.
In a statement, South Korean National Intelligence Service said, “Through real-time information sharing with an allied country’s intelligence agency, it has been confirmed that one injured North Korean soldier has been captured.”
Later on, the agency explained that the captured soldier had succumbed to his injuries.
The photograph of the injured, gaunt North Korean soldier circulated on the Telegram messaging app, Yonhap news agency said South Korea.
The claim followed a report from the Ukrainian outlet Militarnyi, which claimed that special forces had detained the soldier in the Kursk region of Russia, where Ukrainian forces have captured parts of the region during an incursion. The incident’s date and time have not been clearly stated and there has also been no official word so far from Ukraine or North Korea where state media are mum over the troops deployment.
Militarnyi pointed out that, in case this is confirmed, it would be the first such capture of a North Korean soldier by Ukrainian forces.
According to the mutual defense treaty between Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin, North Korea has committed as many as 11,000 soldiers to support Russia.
Although the North Korean soldiers have acquired some experience in the battlefield, their lack of training and the unfamiliar environment expose them to significant risks.
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, the GUR, reported on Thursday that North Korean troops were suffering heavy losses in the Kursk region; the problem was compounded for them by logistical challenges triggered by Ukrainian attacks. In fact, the GUR said that Ukrainian strikes around Novoivanovka had inflicted significant casualties upon North Korean units, further complicated by shortages, particularly a lack of drinking water.
This week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that over 3,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or injured in the Kursk region. This was the first major estimate of North Korean casualties released by Ukraine.
The involvement of North Korean troops marked a major escalation in the war, which has now lasted almost three years, as Russia turned to its ally in order to strengthen its forces and broaden the scope of the conflict by directly involving a third nation in the fighting.
