“Everyone wanted a selfie” with the North Korean prisoner, one of the two who failed to comply with Pyongyang’s order. In another’s pocket they found an iPad with propaganda from the Kim Jong-un regime
After months in the dark about what was really happening in Kursk, while Russia and North Korea kept the mystery of the increasingly noticeable presence of North Korean soldiers in that region, Ukraine managed to capture two of these soldiers, opening a Pandora’s box which now explains much better the role of the men who traveled so far to fight against one that is not theirs.
The capture of these two men, who were unable or did not have the courage to carry out the order given in Pyongyang – Kim Jong-un instructed his soldiers to commit suicide to avoid capture – was seen as a great victory within the army. Ukrainian.
Vitalii Ovcharenko found out “from a friend of a friend”. The soldier, who spoke to the newspaper about the moment he learned of the capture of the two North American soldiers, revealed that this was an important moment.
“It was just half an hour after it happened. My friend said, ‘We have a North Korean prisoner! He’s in shock, but fine.’ I said ‘wow’”, reveals the soldier, adding a statement that shows the unusualness of this moment: “Everyone wanted a selfie. They wrapped him in a blanket and gave him tea.”
One of the first discoveries made in the interrogation of prisoners was how they entered the war. No one told them what or who they were fighting, and many thought it was training. Arriving from Pyongyang to Russia, they received false identities, many of them from people registered in the Russian region of Tuva, on the Asian side of the giant Russian territory. They also gave them uniforms and rifles, even though many of these soldiers, probably all of them, had virtually no combat experience.
Assigned to Russia’s navy and assault teams, the North Korean military then traveled thousands of kilometers to the West, until reaching the Kursk region, where Ukraine continues to maintain a presence in some of the areas conquered in August, after an impressive incursion through Russian territory.
A mask that fell last week, after the announcement confirming the capture of two North Korean soldiers. Shivering from the cold they had been through for days, they were taken to Kiev, where the Ukrainian secret services interrogated them, with the help of South Korean secret services, who have also shared a series of information, especially because in Seoul there is fear that the objective of the northern rival is to train troops for a possible invasion.
One of the soldiers is Lee Jong-nam, a 25-year-old from Pyongyang. He has been in the army since 2016 and belonged to the sniper reconnaissance platoon, one of the units of the North Korean armed forces. Now injured in the jaw, he was the only one who survived from the group of eight soldiers in which he was part, and who entered combat on January 8th.
As for the other soldier, who has not yet been identified, the Ukrainian presidency shared that he was speaking from a hospital bed, where he confirmed that he had been alone for “three, four or five days”. He doesn’t remember the identity they gave him, but he knows it’s not his. Until I arrived in Kiev, where he is being treated for a leg injury, I thought it was part of a training exercise.
“Western agencies know that North Korea is in Russia’s war. This is proof of the facts, it is proof”, says Vitalii Ovcharenko, who describes the two prisoners as “precious”.
“We have a real person in front of us. We can ask him questions. Pyongyang is sending infantry to Moscow, but also weapons,” he adds.
Lee Jong-nam and his partner knew nothing about Ukraine. They are in an “information vacuum”, described Volodymyr Zelensky, accusing Russia of using the approximately 11,000 North Korean soldiers “just to prolong and escalate the war”.
Without preparation or even knowledge of what they are doing – many don’t even know where they are – the North Koreans end up being easy prey for the Ukrainians. That’s why secret South Koreans referred to Pyongyang’s military as “cannon fodder”. This is also why around three thousand soldiers have died or been injured.
While for Russia the North Koreans have more men to put on the ground, for North Korea this experience serves to train its army, made up of around 1.5 million soldiers, which makes the 11 thousand sent a very small part .
“To begin with, they advanced in large groups across the snow-filled fields. The next ones will no longer do so”, says Major General Vadym Skybytskyi, from the Ukrainian intelligence services, in statements cited by The Guardian.
The military therefore believes that the North Koreans were sent to learn how to fight: “They are learning new tactics and how to fight in a drone environment”, he reinforces, explaining that those who survive will return home to train the others.
This is because, as South Korean secrets also advanced, Pyongyang’s military is simply not prepared for a modern war, where unmanned vehicles are essential. And the Ukraine scenario is the best example of this.
In their pockets, in addition to fake identification, some North Korean soldiers carried more important information. An iPad found on one of the dead soldiers revealed 67 gigabytes of propaganda: “My colleague saw it. After two hours he said: ‘North Korea is the best country in the world’”, explains Vadym Skybytskyi.
Despite their clear lack of technological knowledge, North Korean soldiers may have value. This is how Vitalii Ovcharenko sees them, preferring not to devalue an enemy who did not choose to be one. “Russians hide when they see drones. The North Koreans try and manage to shoot them down. They comprise combined warfare, with infantry, planes and tanks”, he adds, highlighting that these are characteristics that could be important in a possible war between the Koreas.
Seeing the importance of maintaining a presence in the Kursk region in a territorial negotiation logic, Ukraine will continue to try to capture enemies, including the North Koreans, which it hopes will give it an advantage when both sides come to the table.
