South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) announced on Friday that a wounded North Korean soldier who was captured by Ukrainian forces while fighting for Russia in Kursk has died of his injuries.
“We have confirmed through intelligence services of friendly countries that the North Korean soldier who was captured alive on December 26th died some time ago.” [his] The wound got worse,” the NIS said. said.
South Korean intelligence agencies said Early Friday morning, thanks to “real-time information sharing” with the aforementioned “intelligence services of friendly countries,” it was possible to quickly confirm the first capture of North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia.
The soldier was reportedly captured during fighting in Russia's Kursk region on Thursday. invaded by the Ukrainian army in August.
The Russian military is clearly frustrated by its inability to retake Kursk without withdrawing its most experienced combat troops from Ukraine's front lines. imported Approximately 12,000 North Korean mercenaries supporting the Kursk counterattack. The North Koreans were allegedly dressed in Russian uniforms and fake identity cards and taught to identify as Yakuts or Buryats, two Siberian ethnic groups with an Asian appearance.
Ukrainian officials Claim North Koreans lack battlefield experience, are unfamiliar with the terrain, have little knowledge of advanced modern tactics such as drone warfare, and have difficulty overcoming the formidable language barrier with their Russian colleagues. Because of the difficulties, he did not do well in Kursk.
Ukrainian intelligence has blamed the language barrier for a December 14 mutual attack in Kursk in which North Korean soldiers opened fire on Chechen allies.
The NIS stated, “North Korea's military is “exhausted'' by front-line attacks in an unfamiliar battlefield environment, and lacks the ability to respond to drone attacks.'' rated this month.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said On December 16, Russia announced that it was keen to conceal the extent of North Korea's involvement in Kursk and was attempting to “literally burn the faces of North Korean soldiers who died in the battle.”
“There is no reason for North Koreans to fight and die for Putin. And even if they did, it would only leave them humiliated for Russia,” Zelenskiy said.
The NIS claims more than 100 North Korean military personnel were killed in Kursk and more than 1,000 more were injured. President Zelenskiy suggested that casualties could be even higher, possibly reaching 3,000. In some hospitals in Kursk, reported Wounded North Koreans are being treated under tight security by Russian soldiers.
The first North Korean POW was captured Ukrainian special operations forces posted photos of injured prisoners. Independent media was unable to verify the authenticity of these photos.
The Ukrainian military also claims that obtained A North Korean soldier's notebook detailing drone warfare tactics, and a handwritten note taken from the corpse of a dead North Korean soldier that appears to contain a birthday greeting to a friend.
White House National Security Press Secretary John Kirby said Friday. condemned The regimes in Moscow and Pyongyang used the North Koreans as cannon fodder in Kursk.
“It is clear that the military leaders of Russia and North Korea treat these forces as expendable and are ordering desperate attacks against Ukraine's defenses,” Kirby said.
