Ukrainian Forces Capture Wounded North Korean Soldier in Russia

In a significant development, South Korea's intelligence agency confirmed that Ukrainian special forces have captured a wounded North Korean soldier. This marks the first known incident of its kind. The capture was verified through real-time information sharing with a friendly nation's intelligence organization.

The incident was initially reported by Ukraine's military-focused news outlet, Militarnyi, which stated that the capture occurred during operations in Russia's western front-line region of Kursk. This comes amid claims that North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia were given fake military documents with Russian names and birthplaces.

Ukraine's special forces have reported killing three North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region and seizing their documents, which lacked proper identification stamps and photos. The documents listed birthplaces in the Russian region of Tuva.

Intelligence estimates from the US, Ukraine, and South Korea suggest that there are between 11,000 to 12,000 North Korean soldiers in Russia, some of whom have engaged in combat alongside Russian forces. Ukraine's special forces reported that 50 North Korean soldiers were killed and 47 injured in recent battles in Kursk.

Despite these reports, Russia and North Korea have not acknowledged the presence of North Korean soldiers in Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russian forces of attempting to destroy evidence of North Korean soldiers' deaths.