North Korean soldier dies after being captured by Ukrainian forces
Share:
North Korean soldier has died after being captured in Ukraine fighting for Russia, South Korea’s spy agency has confirmed. It marks the first reported instance of a North Korean fighter being taken prisoner by Ukraine since it was revealed that Pyongyang was sending forces to help Russia.
Images of the injured soldier before he succumbed to his wounds are said to have circled on the Telegram messaging app. Although Russia and North Korea are yet to confirm the report, South Korea’s spy agency said: “Through real-time information sharing with an allied country’s intelligence agency, it has been confirmed that one injured North Korean soldier has been captured.”.
Yonhap News Agency, a South Korean news outlet, later reported that the injured soldier died from his wounds. "We confirmed through a friendly nation's intelligence organization that a North Korean solider, captured alive on Dec. 26, died a short while ago as (his) wounds worsened," the statement read.
It’s thought that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has authorised the deployment of at least 10,000 soldiers to help Russia fight its offensive against Ukraine. There are signs that further deployments could come as North Korea seeks to further strengthen its experience of international warfare and cultivate stronger relations with Russia.
However, foreign terrain and unfamiliar battlegrounds may have so far proved challenging for the North Korean troops. Since launching its war in 2022, experts believe that Russia has suffered heavy losses on the battlefield, with more than 600,000 estimated dead.
