A North Korean soldier captured by Ukraine has died from his wounds, South Korean intelligence reported.
This is reported by the South Korean agency Yonhap.
The North Korean soldier was captured on December 26 in Kursk, and a day later his condition deteriorated and he died. Intelligence did not provide other details.
The news of his death came a few hours after South Korea confirmed his capture.
The fact that the first North Korean soldier had been captured was first reported by Ukrainian Telegram channels. Photos of a wounded, dirty man in military uniform were circulating online. Ukraine has not yet officially commented on this.
This may be the first case of a North Korean soldier being captured by Ukraine.
Participation of the DPRK military in the war in Ukraine
Ukrainian intelligence reported on October 24 that the first soldiers from the DPRK had already arrived at the front in the Kursk region. There are approximately 12,000 soldiers, including 500 officers and three generals.
According to sources in the American newspaper The New York Times, Russia has assembled a group of 50,000 soldiers for an offensive in the Kursk region. The North Koreans are being trained in artillery strikes, basic infantry tactics and, most importantly, trench clearing, American officials say. This means that at least some of the North Korean soldiers will be used in frontal attacks on Ukrainian positions.
On December 14, Ukraine received confirmation that the Russians had begun using a “significant number” of soldiers from the DPRK in assault operations. According to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, on December 14-15, units of the DPRK army lost at least 30 soldiers killed and wounded, and three more went missing.
South Korean intelligence had data that at least 100 North Korean soldiers had been killed and another 1,000 wounded in fighting in Russiaʼs Kursk region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that more than 3,000 North Korean soldiers had already been killed or wounded.
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