South Korean intelligence confirmed reports in Ukraine that a wounded North Korean soldier had been captured by Ukrainian forces, the latest since North Korea sent combat troops to support Russian forces in the Ukraine war. This may be the first capture of this kind.
“Through real-time information sharing with allied intelligence agencies, we have confirmed that one injured North Korean soldier has been captured,” South Korea's National Intelligence Service said in a statement Friday.
According to South Korea's Yonhap news agency, a photo of a North Korean soldier looking haggard and injured went viral on the messaging app Telegram. Details of the soldier's condition and situation are unknown.
The claim came after Ukrainian media outlet Militarny reported that special forces had captured a soldier in Russia's Kursk region. Part of the Kursk region has been occupied and captured by the Ukrainian invasion.
The news organization did not say when the incident occurred, state media did not mention the deployment of troops, and there was no confirmation from Ukrainian or North Korean officials.
Militarny said if confirmed, the soldier would be the first North Korean fighter taken by the Ukrainian military.
Months after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a mutual defense pact in which the two countries pledged to come to the other's attack, North Korea has arrived in support of its Russian counterpart. As many as 11,000 soldiers have been dispatched from Korea. Help if attacked.
Although North Korea has gained valuable battlefield experience, poorly trained soldiers are fighting in unfamiliar territory and are quickly exposed to the dangers of combat.
This week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy claimed more than 3,000 North Korean troops had been killed or wounded in the Kursk region.
The deployment of North Korean soldiers marked a dramatic escalation in the war that began nearly three years ago, with the Kremlin asking its allies to build up its forces. This was also seen as Putin's attempt to escalate the conflict by directly involving third countries in the fighting.
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