Thanks to the capture of North Korean military personnel, Ukraine has obtained indisputable evidence of North Korea’s participation in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
As reported by Ukrinform, this was announced by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
“The Ukrainian Defense Forces have captured the first North Korean servicemen who fight for the ruscists in the Kursk region. Thus, the Security Service of Ukraine, which investigates and files the relevant crimes, has received indisputable evidence of the DPRK’s participation in Russia’s war against our country,” the statement reads.
It is about two North Korean soldiers, one of whom was captured on January 9, 2025, by the fighters of Tactical Group No. 84 of the Special Operations Forces, and the other by the paratroopers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The SBU noted that immediately after their capture, the foreigners were provided with all necessary medical assistance, as stipulated by the Geneva Conventions.
To conduct initial investigative activities, the North Koreans were transported to Kyiv. The SBU emphasized that they are being held in proper conditions that meet international legal requirements.
The prisoners do not speak Ukrainian, English, or Russian, so communication with them is carried out through Korean language interpreters in cooperation with the intelligence service of South Korea, NIS.
At the time of their capture, one of the foreigners had a Russian-style military ID issued in the name of another person, with registration in the Republic of Tuva (Russia). The other prisoner had no documents at all.
“During the interrogation, the DPRK soldier who was found with the ticket, told the Security Service of Ukraine, that he had been issued the document in Russia in autumn 2024. At that time, he said, some of North Korea’s combat units had one-week interoperability training with ruscist groups,” the SBU added.
He also stated that he was born in 2005, served as a rifleman, and had been serving in the North Korean military since 2021.
“It is noteworthy that the prisoner, just as Russian military at the outset of the full-scale invasion, emphasizes that he was allegedly going for training, not to fight a war against Ukraine,” the SBU remarked.
The other prisoner confirmed the testimony of his “fellow soldier”. He answered some questions in writing due to a jaw injury.
According to preliminary data, he was born in 1999 and has been serving in the North Korean military since 2016 as a sniper scout.
The SBU is conducting the necessary investigative actions to establish all the circumstances of the North Korean soldiers’ involvement in Russia’s war against Ukraine. The investigation is being carried out under the procedural guidance of the Office of the Prosecutor General under Article 437 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (planning, preparation, initiation, and waging of an aggressive war).
As Ukrinform reported, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky informed that Ukrainian soldiers captured two North Korean servicemen in Kursk region.
Source: With capture of North Korean POWs, Ukraine obtains evidence of DPRK's involvement in war – SBU
