Ukraine captured a North Korean soldier in Russia, Seoul claims

Ukrainian forces have captured a wounded North Korean soldier who was sent to support the war with Russia, South Korea’s spy agency confirmed on Friday.

The soldier is believed to be the first North Korean prisoner of war since December, when Pyongyang deployed forces to support Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The confirmation came after a photo of a wounded soldier was shared on Telegram.

North Korea has sent more than 10,000 troops to help Russia, according to Kiev and Seoul, 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 profitable for the Ukrainians to capture these North Korean soldiers and try to exchange them with the Russians for Ukrainian prisoners of war.”

Recent pictures taken during the Russian-Ukrainian war have confirmed speculation that “North Korean troops will be deployed in large numbers for an offensive by the Russian command,” Mr Yang said.

However, he also added that “it will be difficult to prove your North Korean nationality.”

Ukrainian forces say North Korean soldiers have been issued fake Russian IDs, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed earlier this month that Russian soldiers were seen burning the faces of North Koreans who died in battle – allegedly to hide their identities.

More than 3,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded during 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 strengthening alliance between the two rogue states.

The development, which comes at a time when North Korea is raising tensions with South Korea, has raised concerns in the West. China, a longtime ally of both sides, is also keep a close watch on membership.

Additional reporting by Jake Kwon