A wounded North Korean soldier captured by Ukrainian forces, believed to be the first North Korean prisoner of war since Pyongyang sent troops to support Russia in the Ukraine war, has died, according to Yonhap news agency, which cited a statement from the South Korean spy agency, on Friday, the 27th of December, reports the BBC.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said it had confirmed through “allied intelligence” that the soldier had died of “serious injuries”.
According to information from Kyiv and Seoul, North Korea has sent more than 10 000 troops to help Russia in the fighting, although Moscow and Pyongyang have neither confirmed nor denied the soldiers’ involvement.
Seoul’s intelligence service earlier confirmed that a North Korean soldier had been captured by Ukrainian forces after a photo purportedly showing the man was circulated on Telegram.
BREAKING:
The Ukrainian Army have taken their first prisoner-of-war of the North Korean Army
🇺🇦🇰🇵 pic.twitter.com/NtBWJzdUka
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) December 26, 2024
Yang Uk, a researcher at the Asan Institute, told the BBC that the capture of the North Korean soldiers could be beneficial to Ukraine, as they could be used in a prisoner exchange with Russia.
Recent images from the Russia-Ukraine war have confirmed speculation that “North Korean troops will be sent in large numbers to attack the Russian leadership”, Yang said.
However, he added that “it will be difficult to prove that they are North Korean nationals”.
The Ukrainian armed forces claim that North Korean soldiers have been issued fake Russian identity cards, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week released video footage which he said showed Russian soldiers burning the faces of dead North Koreans to hide their identities.
Ukrainian and South Korean intelligence services have said that many of the soldiers stationed in Russia are among Pyongyang’s top soldiers from the 11th Corps, also known as the Storm Corps. This unit is trained in infiltration, infrastructure sabotage and assassination.
More than 3 000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded fighting in the Kursk region, Zelenskyy said on Monday.
He added that cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang increases the risk of “destabilisation” around the Korean peninsula.
The deployment of North Korean troops in Russia is a sign of the growing alliance between the two pariah states. This has raised concerns in the West, and China, a long-standing ally of both sides, is also reportedly wary of the countries’ friendship.