North Korean soldier captured by Ukraine dies, South Korea says
Share:
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has sent more than 10,000 soldiers to help Russia, according to Kyiv and Seoul. An injured North Korean soldier captured by Ukrainian forces has died, according to South Korean media. The man is thought to be the first North Korean prisoner of war taken into custody since Pyongyang sent troops to aid Russia in the conflict in Ukraine.
![[Ukraine fires MLRS towards Russian troops in the Zaporizhzhia region]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/27/08/2024-12-26T094128Z_625049769_RC26WBAKUEJP_RTRMADP_3_UKRAINE-CRISIS-SOUTH-FRONTLINE.jpg)
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said it had confirmed through an “allied intelligence agency” that the soldier had died from “serious injuries”, Yonhap News Agency reported. North Korea’s recent deployment of troops to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, confirmed by both the US and Nato, has raised serious concerns across Asia and with Kyiv’s Western allies.
The move threatens to widen the nearly three-year conflict and is fuelling security anxieties in South Korea and beyond about potential concessions Russia might offer North Korea in return. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has sent more than 10,000 soldiers to help Russia, according to Kyiv and Seoul. Moscow and Pyongyang have not confirmed nor denied their presence.
It comes as Ukraine’s military intelligence said North Korean troops are suffering heavy losses in the fighting in Russia‘s Kursk region and are facing logistical difficulties as a result of Ukrainian attacks. The intelligence agency, known under its acronym GUR, said Ukrainian strikes near Novoivanovka inflicted heavy casualties on North Korean units.
