Ukrainian forces have captured an injured North Korean soldier sent to support Russia’s war, South Korean intelligence confirmed Friday.
The soldier is believed to be the first North Korean prisoner of war captured since December, when Pyongyang deployed troops to support Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The confirmation comes after a photo purportedly showing the wounded soldier was circulated on Telegram.
According to Kiev and Seoul, North Korea has sent more than 10,000 troops to help Russia – although Moscow and Pyongyang have neither confirmed nor denied their presence.
“This is the first in a series of captures and killings,” Yang Uk, a research fellow at the Asian Institute for Policy Studies, told the BBC. “It is more beneficial for the Ukrainians to capture these North Korean troops and try to exchange them with the Russians for Ukrainian prisoners of war.”
Recent images from the Russia-Ukraine war confirmed speculation that “North Korean troops are being deployed in large numbers to attack by Russian command,” Mr. Yang said.
However, he also added that it will be “challenging to prove their North Korean citizenship.”
Ukrainian forces say North Korean soldiers were issued fake Russian IDs, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed earlier this month that Russian soldiers were seen burning the faces of North Koreans killed in battle – allegedly to hide their identities.
More than 3,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded in fighting in Russia’s Kursk region, Zelensky said on Monday.
He added that cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang increases the “risk of destabilization” around the Korean peninsula.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The recent deployment of North Korean troops to Russia is a sign of a growing alliance between the two pariah states.
The development, which comes as tensions worsen between North Korea and South Korea, has sparked concern in the West. So is China, a long-time ally of both sides I keep a cautious eye on the friendship.
Additional reporting by Jake Kwon
