Laila Kirkpatrick, Staff Writer
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukrainian military operations in Russia’s Kursk region led to the capture of two North Korean soldiers. This marks the first instance of Ukraine detaining military personnel from an isolated state.
In a Saturday statement, Zelensky said, “Our soldiers have captured North Korean military personnel in the Kursk region. Two soldiers, though wounded, survived and were transported to Kyiv, where they are now communicating with the Security Service of Ukraine.” The statement, posted on X (formerly Twitter), included photographs of the two soldiers.
Reports from Ukraine and Western allies suggest that at least 11,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to the Kursk region since August of last year. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently stated that over 1,000 North Korean soldiers were killed or wounded in the Kursk region during the last week of December. The capture of these two soldiers is significant, as both Russia and North Korea have attempted to conceal North Korean involvement in the war.
