 |
| Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky | Photo: AFP |
Ukraine has claimed to have captured two North Korean soldiers fighting in Russia's Kursk region. The captured soldiers have been taken to the capital, Kyiv, where investigators will question them, a Ukrainian top official said.
In this regard, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the two prisoners of war had 'contacted' Ukraine's internal intelligence agency, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
Zelensky said in an interview with X Post on Saturday that Russian forces and other North Korean military officials routinely execute their wounded soldiers to erase evidence of North Korea's involvement in the ongoing war.
The SBU said in a statement that no documents were found on one of the detained North Korean soldiers. The other had a Russian military ID card, issued in the name of a person from the Tuva region, which borders Russia with Mongolia.
The statement added that neither of the two prisoners can speak Ukrainian, English, or Russian, so it is taking time to establish contact with them. In this case, South Korean intelligence is assisting with interpreters.
The SBU says one of the detained soldiers claimed he had no idea he was being taken to fight in Ukraine. He was told he was being taken to Russia for training.
The SBU also confirmed that both detainees are being provided with medical assistance under the terms of the Geneva Convention.
However, Ukraine did not provide detailed information about their identities.
This is the first time that Ukrainian intelligence has had the opportunity to interrogate North Korean soldiers in combat. However, Kyiv has previously said it will detain North Korean soldiers wounded in the war. However, they were seriously injured and died shortly after being detained.
A senior Ukrainian military official claimed last month that around 200 North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia in the Kursk region had been killed or wounded in the fighting.
The White House and Pentagon confirmed last month that North Korean troops are participating in frontline fighting against Ukraine on behalf of Russia, primarily from an infantry position.