Two North Korean prisoners of war captured by the Ukrainian Defense Forces in Kursk said they were assured that they were fighting against South Korean soldiers.
Prisoners Ri and Baek spoke about this in an interview with Chosun Ilbo.
Both said they were connected to the North Korean Main Intelligence Bureau, and intelligence agents were closely monitoring the troops in the Kursk region.
“They [the agents] informed us that all the Ukrainian drone operators were actually South Korean soldiers,” said one of the captives.
Ri said that he was brought to Russia on October 10, 2024, along with 2 500 other soldiers. They said they were taking him for training. Initially, the North Koreans were trained in Vladivostok, and in early December they were sent to Kursk to fight against Ukraine.
“I entered the battle on January 5. The first wave of troops suffered heavy losses due to drone strikes and artillery fire. We were counting on the support of Russian artillery, but they fired behind enemy lines and did not cover us properly. This led to many casualties,” he added.
At one point, he and two other soldiers were caught by a drone. Two of them died, but Ri survived, albeit with injuries.
"Back then, I couldnʼt even use a weapon, and I didnʼt have a weapon — neither a grenade nor a knife. I couldnʼt carry anything heavy because of my injuries... So even if I tried to resist, it was obvious that I would be captured. If I had had a grenade, I might have tried to commit suicide," he stressed.
And he added that in the North Korean army, surrendering means treason.
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.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that more than 3 000 soldiers from the DPRK have already been killed or wounded. South Korean intelligence believes that 300 soldiers have been killed in the war and almost 2 700 have been wounded.
Zelensky first reported on December 27, 2024, that the Defense Forces had captured North Korean soldiers, but then they died of wounds. The North Korean soldiers were captured for the second time in January 2025. Ukraine is ready to exchange them for its own soldiers.
According to the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate (known as GUR) Kyrylo Budanov, as of February 2025, 8 000 North Korean fighters are still fighting in Kursk, but in reduced numbers.
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