When Ukrainian soldiers captured two North Korean prisoners of war last month, it provided the first undeniable proof of Pyongyang’s direct involvement in the war against Ukraine.
It also shed some light on the mindset and training of the conscripted North Korean soldiers sent to fight Russia’s war a continent away from their home.
Highly disciplined, ready to die but also very young and with little battlefield experience they elicited curiosity and even some pity from the Ukrainian soldiers who captured them during two separate missions on Jan. 9.
Their capture confirmed what Ukraine, South Korea and the US had been saying for months: Thousands of North Korean troops were fighting alongside Kremlin forces in the battle for Russia’s Kursk border region — something Moscow had never confirmed.
‘You will live’
Capturing a North Korean prisoner had long been an objective for the Ukrainian special forces, even as the North Koreans seemed willing to kill themselves or a wounded comrade to elude capture. Only one had been taken captive, in December, but he died of his wounds.
Then intelligence came about three soldiers stranded in the so-called gray zone — a dangerous no-man’s-land on the front line controlled by neither side. The soldiers were identified as North Koreans because they, not Russians, were operating in that sector of Kursk.
“They were likely abandoned,” said a Ukrainian soldier who participated in the mission and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because special forces members are not authorized to reveal their names.
The team advanced through a barren winter forest toward the coordinates where a drone had spotted the three lost soldiers.
“Koreans are incredibly tough,” the soldier said. “We’ve seen them carrying enormous loads: one soldier as small as a child, with a heavy backpack and a machine gun, yet sprinting.”
As they closed in, the Ukrainians came under enemy fire, and two of the North Koreans were killed in the firefight. The third soldier was wounded in his legs.
When the Ukrainians reached him, his only remaining weapon was a single grenade. Disoriented, he didn’t resist as the group began providing first aid and their commander discreetly removed the grenade. The North Korean, unaware of this, continued searching his pockets for it afterward.
The Ukrainian soldier said he tried to communicate with the captured man. He first spoke in Russian, eliciting a faint response. Then he heard the soldier muttering phrases in English and switched to his own broken English.
He asked the soldier's age and how long he had been serving. The soldier said he was 21 years old and had already spent four years in the military.
“He said conscription starts at 16 and lasts eight years,” the Ukrainian soldier said. Despite his own 12 years of service and being a father of three, the soldier felt an unexpected wave of compassion.
“I looked at him, and honestly, I felt sorry for him,” he said. “He asked for water, and we gave him some. Then he asked for a cigarette, and we gave him one. He called us ‘brothers.’”
The team bandaged the North Korean soldier's legs and were carrying him toward Ukrainian-controlled territory when they were detected by a Russian reconnaissance drone, prompting a barrage of enemy fire.
“They must have realized we’d captured him and were desperate to take him out,” the soldier said.
The team eventually reached a Ukrainian evacuation vehicle. They loaded the wounded North Korean into it. Only then, noticing the blue armbands on their sleeves, did he grasp he was in Ukrainian hands. He began searching frantically for his grenade again.
“When I handed him over to the medics, he looked terrified that I wasn’t going with him,” the soldier said. “I told him, ‘Everything will be fine, you will live.’”
With that, the vehicle drove off, concluding the operation after eight tense hours.
“I do feel sorry for him, but damn, they came to our land,” the soldier said. “Still, I’d like to meet him again someday.”
Suicide rather than capture
On the same day, soldiers from an airborne unit captured another North Korean soldier, this time by chance and without initially realizing who they were taking prisoner.
It all began around 5 a.m., when a North Korean assault struck their position.
“The battle was intense and dragged on for hours,” recalled 27-year-old paratrooper Maksym Didorchuk. The air thundered with explosions, and the sky buzzed with drones. The North Koreans attacked relentlessly.
“Their assaults are massive, but they’re treated as expendable,” Didorchuk said. “They’re tough because they rely on sheer numbers.”
“They follow orders,” and never retreat, he said. “They’re likely being used as training material.”
Around noon, a reconnaissance drone spotted a lone soldier moving erratically from the Russian side toward the rear of the Ukrainian position.
“He was zigzagging, moving left and right,” Didorchuk said. “Nobody knew who he was. The order was to intercept him, provide medical assistance if necessary, and decide what to do next.”
Didorchuk and another paratrooper set off toward the soldier, guided by a Ukrainian reconnaissance drone. They eventually reached an area near destroyed Russian weaponry, where they saw the soldier sitting, his face hidden from view.
The paratroopers approached cautiously, asking in Ukrainian if the soldier needed help. No response. They tried Russian. The soldier glanced at them but remained silent. Switching to English also yielded no reaction.
Finally, as they drew closer, they saw his features clearly — and realized he was North Korean.
The soldier’s arm was wounded, and his jaw bandaged, likely before he was separated. His movements were slow and uncoordinated, possibly the result of a concussion, Didorchuk said.
“He didn’t seem to know where he was going.”
Attached to his armor were a grenade and a knife. The paratroopers gestured for him to remove them, but he appeared confused.
“He didn’t know if we were allies or enemies,” Didorchuk said.
After repeated gestures, the soldier dropped the grenade and the knife. The paratroopers motioned for him to follow, and he complied. They maintained a cautious distance, aware that Russian drones could spot them and attack to prevent the North Korean from being captured.
“From what I understand, they don’t want Koreans taken prisoner. They quickly evacuate their wounded and dead to erase all traces,” Didorchuk said.
As they waited in a trench for transport, the North Korean asked for a cigarette, then another, while the paratroopers kept a vigilant eye not only on him but on the skies for Russian drones.
When the vehicle arrived, the North Korean soldier grew nervous. Suddenly he lunged at a concrete pillar, striking his head against it.
“I saw it as an attempt at self-destruction,” Didorchuk said.
The soldiers secured him in the vehicle to be transferred to the authorities.
Ukraine’s SBU security service, which interrogated the POWs, said one had no documents, while the other carried a Russian military ID in the name of a man from Tuva, a Russian region bordering Mongolia.
It said one of the soldiers claimed he was told he was going to Russia for training, not to fight against Ukraine. He said his combat unit only received one week of training alongside Russian troops before being sent to the front.
