Ukrainian forces have captured a wounded North Korean soldier sent to support Russia's war, South Korea's spy agency confirmed Friday.
The soldier is believed to be the first North Korean prisoner of war captured since December, when Pyongyang deployed troops to support Russia's war in Ukraine.
The confirmation comes after a photo claiming to show the wounded soldier circulated on Telegram.
Kiev and Seoul say North Korea has sent more than 10,000 soldiers to help Russia, although Moscow and Pyongyang have neither confirmed nor denied their presence.
“This is the first in a series of arrests and killings,” Yang Uk, a researcher at the Asian Institute for Policy Studies, told the BBC. “It is more profitable for Ukrainians to capture these North Korean troops and try to exchange them with Russians for Ukrainian prisoners of war.”
Recent images from the war between Russia and Ukraine confirmed speculation that “North Korean troops will be deployed in large numbers for the attack by Russian commandos,” Yang said.
However, he also added that “it will be a challenge to prove their North Korean nationality.”
Ukrainian troops say North Korean soldiers have been given fake Russian IDs, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last week posted images of what he said showed Russian troops burning the faces of slain North Koreans to hide their identities.
Ukrainian and South Korean intelligence agencies have said many of the troops deployed in Russia are among Pyongyang's best, drawn from the 11th Corps, also known as the Storm Corps. The unit is trained in infiltration, infrastructure sabotage and assassination.
More than 3,000 North Korean troops have been killed or injured in 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 growing alliance between the two pariah states.
The development, which comes as North Korea increases tensions with South Korea, has raised concerns in the West. China, a long-time ally of both sides, is also keeping a cautious eye on the friendship.
Additional reporting by Jake Kwon
