Media: Two soldiers from the DPRK, who were captured by the Ukrainian military, asked for asylum in South Korea

Two North Korean soldiers in their 20s who were captured by Ukrainian soldiers in the Kursk region of Russia wrote a letter expressing their desire to go to South Korea.

This was stated by the leader of a group of North Korean defectors in South Korea, Yonhap reports.

The letter was delivered in early December via a South Korean documentary producer who had visited a prisoner of war camp near Kyiv.

In particular, the prisoners say that they consider the people of South Korea to be their brothers.

The prisoners expressed their gratitude to those who said that the current situation they face is "not a tragedy, but the beginning of a new life".

“Thanks to the support of the people in the Republic of Korea, new dreams and aspirations have begun to be born,” they wrote.

North Koreaʼs participation in the war against Ukraine

Russia is using North Korean soldiers in the war with Ukraine — the first of them arrived at the front in October 2024, when it was about 12 thousand people. And in March 2025, North Korea sent another 3 thousand soldiers.

Initially, both sides denied this, but on April 26 of this year, Russia officially acknowledged for the first time the participation of North Korean troops in the war against Ukraine. Two days later, North Korea confirmed that its troops were participating in Russiaʼs full-scale war against Ukraine, including fighting on the Kursk Bulge.

In July, Ukrainian intelligence noted that North Korea intends to triple the number of its military fighting on the side of Russia and send an additional 25-30 000 soldiers to help Moscow.

In January 2025, the Defense Forces captured the first two North Korean soldiers. President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine was ready to hand them over to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

In addition to manpower, the DPRK provides Russia with weapons. As early as January 4, 2024, Western media wrote that Russia had received a batch of ballistic missiles from the DPRK (several dozen) and launchers for them. On the same day, the US officially stated that Russia had short-range ballistic missiles from the DPRK and had launched them over Ukraine.

The head of GUR Kyrylo Budanov said in January 2025 that North Korea plans to send another 150 ballistic missiles to Russia this year.

In April, Reuters reported that North Korea had handed over up to 6 million shells to Russia. Without them, Russia would not have been able to wage war so actively. At some points last year, the majority of the shells used by individual Russian units were North Korean, in some cases 100%. The publication noted that this was Russiaʼs most significant direct military assistance in the war.

In October, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that the command of the Russian occupation army was involving units of North Korean troops to adjust strikes on the Sumy region.

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