Seoul, Jan 12: One of the two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukraine has claimed during questioning that he thought he was going for training, not to the war against Ukraine, Kyiv’s security service has said.
On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine had captured two wounded North Korean soldiers in Russia’s western Kursk region and that investigators were questioning them.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said it has questioned the two soldiers — both allegedly in their 20s — through Korean interpreters in cooperation with South Korea’s National Intelligence Service as they do not speak Ukrainian, Russian or English, reports Yonhap news agency.
It said that one of the soldiers had a Russian military identification card in the name of another person registered in Russia. The soldier said he was given the document last autumn when he said some North Korean units took part in a one-week training event with Russian forces.
“It is noteworthy that the prisoner … emphasises that he was allegedly going for training, not to fight a war against Ukraine,” the SBU said in a release.
The North Korean with the Russian military ID said he was born in 2005 and has been serving in the North Korean military since 2021. The other was born in 1999 and has been serving since 2016 as a scout sniper, the SBU said, citing preliminary information.
The SBU also released video footage appearing to show the two captured men — both of them in bandages from apparent wounds.
“Immediately after being captured, the foreigners were provided with all the necessary medical care,” it said.
“They are being held in appropriate conditions that meet the requirements of international law.” North Korea is estimated to have sent some 11,000 troops to support Russia in its war against Ukraine, according to South Korean officials. (IANS)
