Seoul confirms captured DPRK soldiers in Russian Kursk region

South Korean intelligence confirmed the capture of two DPRK soldiers by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Russian Kursk region on January 9. One of the prisoners admitted that he expected to undergo training rather than participate in the war and said that the North Korean army had suffered heavy losses at the front.

The Seoul National Intelligence Service (NIS) released a statement on Sunday, January 12. In it, the agency "confirmed that the Ukrainian military captured two North Korean soldiers on January 9 in the Kursk battlefield in Russia."

According to the NIS, one of the captured soldiers admitted during interrogation that he had undergone military training in the Russian army after arriving in Russia in November.

"He initially believed he was being sent for training, realising upon arrival in Russia that he had been deployed," the South Korean intelligence service said.

The DPRK military also said that North Korean troops suffered "significant losses during battle."

According to South Korean intelligence, one of the men "went without food or water for four to five days before being captured."

As reported, on January 11, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine had captured two soldiers from North Korea in Russian Kursk region. The wounded soldiers were taken to Kyiv and are already testifying to SSU investigators.

Russian propagandist Skabeyeva complained that the Ukrainian military "kidnapped Koreans" from Kursk region, "breaking into the territory of Russia," but chose to say nothing about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

As a reminder, in late December, the Ukrainian Armed Forces captured the first DPRK soldier, who died the next day as a result of serious injuries.

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