President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote that Ukraine is ready to hand over captured North Korean soldiers to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. But there is a condition — Kim Jong Un will organize their exchange for Ukrainian fighters held captive in Russia.
"In addition to the first captured soldiers from North Korea, there will undoubtedly be others. Itʼs a matter of time before our guys manage to capture more. And no one in the world should have any doubts that the Russian army depends on military assistance from the DPRK," the president said.
If the captured North Korean soldiers do not want to return, they will have other options. In particular, those who want to bring peace closer by spreading the truth in Korean about the Russian-Ukrainian war will have this opportunity.
The Ukrainian Defense Forces in Kursk captured two North Korean soldiers. They were wounded, but survived. One of them says that he was supposedly going for training, not for a war against Ukraine.
Participation of the DPRK military in the war in Ukraine
Ukrainian intelligence reported on October 24, 2024, 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.
Later, 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.
Zelensky first reported on December 27 that North Korean soldiers had been captured, but then they died from their wounds.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine please follow us on X.