In the Russian region of Kursk: Captured soldier from North Korea is said to have died

In the Kursk region of Russia
Captured North Korean soldier is said to have died

December 27, 2024, 8:10 a.m

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Ukraine reports thousands of dead and wounded North Korean soldiers in Russia’s Kursk region. Now there is said to have been a first captivity. Shortly afterwards, however, a news agency reported that the man had died.

A North Korean soldier fighting alongside Russia has died in Ukrainian captivity, according to South Korean sources. South Korean intelligence said the North Korean soldier had been captured alive by Kiev troops the day before, according to information from an allied intelligence service. However, the soldier’s injuries worsened and he ultimately died.

“Through real-time information sharing with an allied country’s intelligence service, it was confirmed that an injured North Korean soldier was captured,” the intelligence agency said. It was later said that an allied intelligence agency had confirmed that the soldier had died of his worsening injuries. According to information from intelligence circles, it was initially not known where the capture took place.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, more than 3,000 North Korean soldiers have already been killed or injured in the war between Russia and Ukraine. The South Korean General Staff, on the other hand, states the number of 1,000 North Korean soldiers injured or killed.

After an intelligence briefing last week, South Korean parliamentarian Lee Sung Kwon said the North Korean soldiers would be “used as expendable attack troops on the front lines.”

Moscow and Pyongyang work closely together

Moscow had recently reinforced its armed forces in the war of aggression against Ukraine with North Korean troops. According to the US and South Korea, around 10,000 soldiers from North Korea are stationed in Russia. According to Ukrainian information, they are fighting alongside Russian troops in the Russian border region of Kursk, which is partly controlled by Kiev.

Russia and North Korea increased their military cooperation after Russia’s attack on Ukraine in February 2022. In June, both countries signed a defense pact, and in mid-October there were the first reports of North Korean soldiers being sent to Russia.

North Korean state media reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a New Year’s message to Pyongyang’s leader, Kim Jong Un. The “bilateral relations between our two countries have risen to a new level following our talks in Pyongyang in June,” Putin wrote, according to state media.