Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced Saturday that his military has captured two North Korean soldiers fighting on the Russian side in the Kursk region, which is believed to be a first such instance.
He said that after the foreign troops' capture, the men were taken to Kyiv be interrogated by the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), also known as SBU - and receive treatment as they are wounded.
"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," Zelensky said on X.
Zelensky further said he authorized the SBU to give reporters access to the two POWs because the "world needs to know the truth about what is happening."
Ukraine, the Pentagon, and South Korean intelligence all estimated that North Korea has sent at least 10,000 of its troops to assist Russia. Zelensky has said this makes clear there is an 'axis' of countries fighting against Ukraine.
So far it is believed these foreign units have remained in Russia's Kursk region to help push back Ukraine's cross-border offensive there, which has held territory since early August.
It was in early November that Ukraine's military reported the first direct clashes on the field of battle with North Korean troops.
"Ukrainian officials said on Monday that their forces had fired at North Korean soldiers in combat for the first time since their deployment by Russia to its western Kursk region," FT wrote during the first week of November.
The publication had characterized that instance as "the first direct intervention by a foreign army since Russia’s full-scale invasion" as well as constituting an expansion of "what was already the largest land war in Europe since the second world war."
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.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 11, 2025
This was not an easy task: Russian forces and other North… pic.twitter.com/5J0hqbarP6
The Kremlin has pointed to the legitimacy of the defense pact inked between Presidents Putin and Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang this past summer. This came after Kim visited Russia's far east, and reportedly inspected aerial and space centers.
Currently there are reports that Moscow plans to help North Korea with advanced space and satellite technology, something being closely monitored by Western intelligence services.
