Why North Korean POWs are rare

The combined image shows two North Korean prisoners of war (POWs) held by Ukraine / Captured from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's X account

As attention focuses on the fate of the two North Korean prisoners of war (POWs) held in Ukraine, questions arise over why there are so few captives from the reclusive state.

Pyongyang sent around 11,000 soldiers to fight with Russian forces in the invasion of Ukraine in late 2024. At least 6,000 of them reportedly died not long after they began fighting in Russia's Kursk region in December 2024, as North Korean soldiers were wholly unprepared for Ukrainian drones, according to Ukrainian military and intelligence officials.

Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) stated that North Korean troops were stationed in Kursk and continued to launch attacks on the Ukrainian border as of last month. The agency also said the North Korean soldiers are rotated regularly and around 3,000 have returned to North Korea to pass on skills they acquired on the battlefield.

Currently, there are only two known North Korean POWs. In January 2025, Ukrainian authorities unveiled a video of the two captives, and South Korean broadcaster MBC's "PD Notebook" was able to interview them for a program that aired last month.

Why are North Korean soldiers different?

The rare "PD Notebook" interview has shed light on the North's indoctrination of its soldiers, enabling them to fight "fearlessly" and even take their own lives when faced with capture.

During the program, Ukrainian military officers said that North Korean soldiers keep advancing even under gunfire.

“Our instructors compared us to the North Korean soldiers and pointed out how we were doing things wrong, referring to the North Korean soldiers as a model,” a Russian POW identified as Mikhail said, recalling training sessions in an interview at a POW facility in Ukraine.

The North Korean soldiers stated they were alive against their will, unable to take their lives before being captured due to severe injuries.

"Russian soldiers and North Korean soldiers are different," one of the POWs said in the interview. "North Korean soldiers cannot become POWs. It is a sin to become a POW."

Part of the program showed a Ukrainian approaching an injured North Korean soldier lying on the ground. The North Korean shouted "Long live General Kim Jong-un!" before the video was cut short. The soldier was said to have taken out a grenade and taken his own life.

In North Korea, this mindset of "sacrifice for the country" is engrained when they serve a mandatory 10-year period in the military. The slogan "spirit of suicide-bombing" can be seen not only at military units but also in society, North Korean sources say.

Another key reason North Korean soldiers are determined to kill themselves when facing capture is because their families are in danger if they return as POWs.

"Three generations are entirely wiped out," the other North Korean POW claimed, saying, "I don't know if something happened to (my mother) because of me ... It was wrong that I was born to her."

North Korea's motivations for deployment

North Korea's regime acknowledged the deployment of their soldiers to Russia in April 2025.

Kim Jong-un, the country's leader, has continuously glorified fallen soldiers, visiting a memorial constructed for them multiple times. Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the ruling Worker's Party, reported Monday that Kim visited the complex in Pyongyang housing a memorial dedicated to soldiers who died in the Russia-Ukraine war. His latest moves are seen as justification of North Korea's participation in the war and a move to quell discontent.

"This moment today is an emotional and historic time that inscribes in Pyongyang’s history the most heroic era that defended sacred dignity and honor," he was quoted as saying at the inauguration ceremony.

Experts say North Korea's decision to dispatch troops to Russia reflects Pyongyang's wish to strengthen its alliance with Moscow. At the 2025 Victory Day Military Parade in Beijing in September, Kim stood with China's Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin, symbolically placing Kim as an important ally.

Both of the North Korean POWs have expressed a desire to go to South Korea. They were excluded in the list of soldiers Ukraine delivered to Russia for a POW exchange. Seoul has stated it would accept the North Korean POWs, if they request to come to the South. However, talks with Ukraine and international organizations need to take place for this to happen.