By Max Hunder
(Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that Ukraine had captured two North Korean soldiers in Russia's Kursk region, marking the first time that Ukraine had announced the capture of North Korean soldiers alive since they entered the war last fall.
North Korean regular forces entered the war on Russia's side in October, according to Kiev and its Western allies, who initially estimated their numbers at 10,000 troops or more.
In a post on X, Zelensky said the soldiers had been brought to Kiev and were communicating with the Security Service of Ukraine, the country's domestic intelligence agency.
“As is the case with all prisoners of war, these two North Korean soldiers are receiving the necessary medical assistance,” Zelensky said. He said that journalists will be given the possibility to speak to them.
Kiev says North Korean forces are fighting in the Kursk region, where Ukraine launched an incursion in August. Kiev says it still controls several hundred square kilometers of territory there.
Pyongyang also supplies Russia with large quantities of artillery shells, according to Kyiv and its Western allies.
Ukraine had previously said it had captured North Korean soldiers during the fighting, but they were seriously injured and died shortly afterwards.
