Ukraine, the United States and South Korea have accused North Korea of sending more than 10,000 soldiers to help bolster Russian forces. Neither Moscow nor Pyongyang has yet acknowledged that North Koreans have been deployed to fight against Ukraine.

Le Monde with AFP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday, January 12, that he was ready to hand over captured North Korean soldiers to Pyongyang in exchange for the return of Ukrainian POWs held in Russia. Zelensky’s offer came hours after South Korea’s National Intelligence Service confirmed Ukraine’s announcement from the previous day that it had captured two North Korean soldiers.

Kyiv said Saturday they had been wounded fighting Ukraine’s troops in Russia’s Kursk region, but at the time did not provide any proof of their nationality. Yet on Sunday, the NIS told Agence France-Presse (AFP) it had “confirmed that the Ukrainian military captured two North Korean soldiers on January 9 in the Kursk battlefield in Russia.”

In a post on X Sunday, Zelensky said: “Ukraine is ready to hand over Kim Jong Un’s soldiers to him if he can organize their exchange for our warriors who are being held captive in Russia.”

There would “undoubtedly be more” North Korean soldiers captured by Kyiv, he added. “For those North Korean soldiers who do not wish to return, there may be other options available.” “In particular, those who express a desire to bring peace closer by spreading the truth about this war in Korean will be given that opportunity,” Zelensky added.

Russia and North Korea ties

Ukraine, the United States and South Korea have accused nuclear-armed North Korea of sending more than 10,000 soldiers to help bolster Russian forces. Neither Moscow nor Pyongyang has acknowledged that North Koreans have been deployed to fight against Ukraine.

The two countries have boosted their military cooperation since Russia launched its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. “There should be no doubt left in the world that the Russian army is dependent on military assistance from North Korea,” said Zelensky.

The Ukrainian president posted a video of an interrogation of the two North Korean prisoners of war, one of whom is lying in a bunk bed and the other is sitting up in bed with a bandage around his jaw.

One man can be heard speaking to a Ukrainian official through an interpreter, saying in translated comments that he did not know he was going to fight in a war with Ukraine and that his commanders “told him it was just training.”

In translated comments, one of the men says he wants to return to North Korea. The other says he will do what he is told but, if given the chance, wants to live in Ukraine.

‘Significant losses’

South Korea’s confirmation Sunday added weight to Kyiv’s account, confirming details released by Ukraine the previous day. The NIS said one of the captured soldiers had revealed that he received military training from Russian forces after arriving there in November.

The NIS said it would continue to work with the SBU to share information on North Korean fighters in Ukraine. Neither Russia nor North Korea has reacted to the intelligence accounts.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last month that nearly 3,000 North Korean soldiers had been “killed or wounded” fighting for Russia.

Around 300 North Korean soldiers have been killed and 2,700 wounded while fighting in Russia’s war against Ukraine, a South Korean lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun said Monday, citing information from the NIS. The soldiers, reportedly from North Korea’s elite Storm Corps, have been ordered to kill themselves rather than be taken prisoner, Lee said. “Notably, memos found on deceased soldiers indicate that the North Korean authorities pressured them to commit suicide or self-detonate before capture,” he said.

The NIS told the country’s lawmakers last month that “several North Korean casualties” had already been attributed to Ukrainian missile and drone attacks as well as training accidents, with the highest ranking “at least at the level of a general.”

He added that some of the soldiers had been granted “amnesty” or wanted to join North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, hoping to improve their lot by fighting. One North Korean soldier who was about to be captured shouted “General Kim Jong Un” and attempted to detonate a grenade, Lee said, adding that he was shot and killed.

The NIS analysis also revealed that the North Korean soldiers have “a lack of understanding of modern warfare,” and are being used by Russia in a manner leading to “the high number of casualties,” the lawmaker said.

Due to losses among its forces, North Korea is preparing for additional deployment to Ukraine, according to Seoul’s military. Russia on Sunday claimed the capture of two villages in eastern Ukraine where its forces have been advancing for months.

The defense ministry said forces had captured the village of Yantarne in the eastern Donetsk region, around 10 kilometers (six miles) southwest of Kurakhove, a key logistics hub that Moscow claimed to have seized last week. Russian troops also captured the village of Kalinove in the northeastern Kharkiv region, said the ministry.

Source: lemonde.fr