Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
3,000 North Korean troops killed or injured in Russia-Ukraine war: spy agency
A captured North Korean soldier answers questions in a video posted Saturday on X by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Captured from Volodymyr Zelenskyy's X
By Jung Min-ho
Soldiers told to kill themselves or conduct suicide bombing attacks to avoid being captured
At least 300 North Korean troops dispatched to help the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine have been killed and 2,700 others injured, according to South Korea’s spy agency, Monday.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) told members of the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee that the troops were directed by their regime in Pyongyang to kill themselves or conduct suicide bombing attacks, if deemed necessary, to avoid being captured, according to Rep. Lee Seong-kweun of the ruling People Power Party.
The NIS attributed the high number of North Korean casualties to their "lack of understanding of modern warfare," highlighting their reckless attempt to launch a land attack without supporting fire. This conclusion was drawn from an analysis of combat video obtained recently.
On the battlefield, a North Korean soldier was confirmed to have been killed by Ukrainians just before attempting a suicide attack with his grenade, while shouting "General Kim Jong-un," the name of North Korea’s leader, according to the NIS.
The intelligence committee meeting was held following the release of a video by Kyiv showing two wounded North Korean soldiers who had been captured alive by the Ukrainian military.
The NIS also confirmed that the two were members of the Reconnaissance General Bureau of North Korea’s military. They were among the 2,500 troops of the bureau deployed to Russia in October 2024.
Neither of the two expressed his wish to defect to South Korea, according to the spy agency.
The Ukrainian video shows the North Korean captives being interrogated through a Korean interpreter.
One of them, lying on a bunk with bandages on both hands, shook his head when asked if he knew he was fighting against Ukrainian troops in a war. He said he thought he was partaking in “realistic” military drills as he was told by his commanders. He said he started to take part in what he thought was a military exercise on Jan. 3 and hid himself inside an air-raid shelter until being captured after seeing some of his fellow soldiers die.
When asked if he would return to North Korea, he replied with a question: "Are Ukrainians good people?" After the interpreter responded, "Here is good," he said, "I want to live here."
When asked the same question, the other captive was initially unresponsive, but when the interpreter asked again, using “Choson,” the term North Koreans use for their country, he nodded.
A captured North Korean soldier answers questions in a video posted Saturday on X by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Captured from Volodymyr Zelenskyy's X
In his post on X the same day, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was ready to hand over the captured North Koreans in exchange for the return of Ukrainian prisoners of war held in Russia.
Speaking to The Korea Times, experts said Zelenskyy should not send them back to the North, especially the one who expressed his wish to remain in Ukraine.
“Most likely, he would be executed upon arrival,” said Oh Gyeong-seob, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, a state-funded think tank. “I believe there is a role the South Korean government can play. If they want to defect to South Korea, that would be the best outcome. But at least, our government should make sure that they won’t be sent back.”
For Oh, the most shocking part of the video was that the Kim regime had withheld the truth from the soldiers when it sent them to Russia.
“This suggests that the regime thinks that there is no legitimacy in Russia’s war,” he said.
Experts also believe the North Korean captives will be treated as POWs under the Geneva Conventions.
“Even though North Korea and Russia deny their military cooperation, they were apparently North Koreans and captured while fighting in war. They will be recognized as POWs,” said Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University.
At a press briefing, Koo Byoung-sam, spokesman for the Ministry of Unifcation, said a review of international law and consultations with relevant countries will be necessary if the North Korean captives are to be brought to South Korea.