Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said troops operating in Kursk have apprehended two North Korean soldiers, marking the first time that Kyiv has caught soldiers ‘alive’ from North Korea.
Zelensky wrote: “Our soldiers have captured North Korean military personnel in the Kursk region. Two soldiers, though wounded, survived and were transported to Kyiv, where they are now communicating with the Security Service of Ukraine.
This was not an easy task: Russian forces and other North Korean military personnel usually execute their wounded to erase any evidence of North Korea’s involvement in the war against Ukraine.
I am grateful to the soldiers of Tactical Group No. 84 of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as our paratroopers, who captured these two individuals.
As with all prisoners of war, these two North Korean soldiers are receiving the necessary medical assistance. I have instructed the Security Service of Ukraine to grant journalists access to these prisoners. The world needs to know the truth about what is happening”.
According to Ukrainian and Western assessments, approximately 11,000 North Korean soldiers are deployed in the Kursk region.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga wrote on X that the “first North Korean prisoners of war are now in Kyiv,” calling them “regular DPRK troops, not mercenaries.”
“We need maximum pressure against regimes in Moscow and Pyongyang,” he wrote.
The men do not speak Russian or Ukrainian and communication is through Korean interpreters, the SBU said, adding that this was “in cooperation” with South Korea’s National Intelligence Service.
Earlier, on December 14, Zelensky said that the Russian army had started using soldiers from North Korea for assaults.
“Today, we already have preliminary data that the Russians have begun to use North Korean soldiers in their assaults — a significant number of them,” Zelensky said in a video address.
“The Russians are integrating them into combined units and using them in operations in the areas of the Kursk region.”
Zelensky also said that North Korean units have sustained “noticeable losses” and that Russian President Vladimir Putin has “dragged another state into this war.”
“Losses in this category are already noticeable. In essence, Moscow has dragged another state into this war, and it has done so to the maximum extent. If this is not escalation, what is the escalation many have been discussing? It is Putin who is taking steps that broaden and prolong this war. It is he who is pushing away the possibility of peace. And he wants the world to face more problems in Asia,” Zelenskyy emphasized.
Though the “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty” between North Korea and Russia was signed only in June 2024, military cooperation between the two states goes back more than seven decades.
Barter Deal Between Russia & North Korea?
Earlier, a new report claimed that Moscow secured military assistance from North Korea in exchange for food and grains.
Citing a lawmaker familiar with the situation, South Korean publication The Korea Herald reported on November 3 that Russia is paying North Korea in cash, food, and space technology to support it in the conflict.
The allegations have also been confirmed by the US State Department. In a statement published on October 31, the US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said: “We now assess that North Korea has sent around 10,000 of its soldiers to train in eastern Russia.”
The publication quoted South Korean parliamentary intelligence committee member Wi Sung-lac as saying that North Korean soldiers are believed to be getting about $2,000 a month from Russia for their service, which, if multiplied by 10,000 soldiers, would amount to at least $200 million a year.
Additionally, the lawmaker claimed, citing intelligence briefings, that Moscow is contributing to alleviating North Korea’s food crisis.
Citing North Korea’s own declaration that the country produces about four million tons of grain, including wheat, barley, and rice, annually on average, Wi noted: “The four million tons of grains that North Korea says it produces per year are about one million tons short of what it needs to feed the country.”
He added, “If Russia is offering 600,000 to 700,000 tons of rice, that is enough to cover more than half of what North Korea would need to meet the year’s demand.” Supporting his argument, the lawmaker said Russia has shipped between 50,000 and 100,000 tons of rice to North Korea in the past. “So you could say 600,000 tons is a bit more than the rice aid they received from Russia previously,” he said.
Wi further claimed that Russia’s arms purchases were easing the North Korean food shortage. He told the South Korean publication that a large portion of the food scarcity was “probably relieved through the arms trade” now that Russia is purchasing artillery shells from North Korea.
“By selling a few containers worth of artillery shells, Pyongyang can afford a lot more than hundreds of thousands of tons of rice,” he stated emphatically.
By: ET Desk
