North Korean soldier captured in Ukraine war dies from injuries: Seoul

SEOUL – South Korea’s spy agency said on Dec 27 it had confirmed that a North Korean soldier sent to back

Russia’s war against Ukraine

had died after he was captured alive by Ukrainian forces.

Pyongyang has deployed thousands of soldiers to reinforce Russian troops, including in the Kursk border region where Ukraine mounted a shock border incursion in August.

“It has been confirmed through an allied intelligence agency that the North Korean soldier captured alive on Dec 26 has just passed away due to worsening wounds,” the South’s spy agency said in a statement.

The soldier was captured by the Ukrainian army, an intelligence source told AFP, adding that the location where he was seized remains unknown.

The first confirmation of the capture of a North Korean soldier came days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Dec 23 that nearly 3,000 North Korean soldiers had been “killed or wounded” so far.

Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) also said on Dec 23 that more than 1,000 North Korean soldiers had been killed or wounded.

The JCS also said that Pyongyang was reportedly “preparing for the rotation or additional deployment of soldiers” and was supplying “240mm rocket launchers and 170mm self-propelled artillery” to the Russian army.

Seoul’s military believes that North Korea is seeking to modernise its conventional warfare capabilities through combat experience gained in the Russia-Ukraine war.

North Korean state media said on Dec 27 that Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a New Year’s message to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, saying “the bilateral ties between our two countries have been elevated after our talks in June in Pyongyang”.

A landmark defence pact went into effect in December after the two sides exchanged ratification documents.

Mr Putin hailed the deal in June as a “breakthrough document”. AFP