N. Korean soldier caught in Russia-Ukraine battle: Seoul

South Korea’s spy company stated Friday it had actually validated that a North Korean soldier sent out to back Russia’s battle versus Ukraine had actually been caught by Ukrainian pressures.

Pyongyang has actually released hundreds of soldiers to strengthen Russia’s armed forces, consisting of in the Kursk boundary area where Ukraine installed a shock boundary attack in August.

“Through real-time information sharing with an allied country’s intelligence agency, it has been confirmed that one injured North Korean soldier has been captured,” South Korea’s National Intelligence Service stated in a declaration.

The soldier was caught by the Ukrainian military, a South Korean knowledge resource informed AFP, including that the place where he was taken was not recognized.

Friday’s verification came days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that almost 3,000 North Korean soldiers had actually been “killed or wounded” thus far as they signed up with Russian soldiers in fight.

South Korea’s knowledge solution had actually formerly placed the variety of eliminated or injured North Koreans at 1,000, stating the high casualty price might be to an unknown field of battle setting and their absence of capacity to respond to drone assaults.

Pyongyang’s soldiers were additionally being “utilised as expendable frontline assault units”, legislator Lee Seong- kweun stated, talking recently after a rundown by South Korea’s spy company.

– ‘Dangerous development’ –

North Korea and Russia have actually enhanced their armed forces connections because Moscow’s intrusion of Ukraine in February 2022.

A site protection deal in between Pyongyang and Moscow checked in June entered into pressure this month, with Russian President Vladimir Putin hailing it as a “breakthrough document”.

North Korean state media stated Friday that Putin sent out a New Year’s message to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, stating “the bilateral ties between our two countries have been elevated after our talks in June in Pyongyang”.

Ukraine’s allies have actually called Pyongyang’s expanding participation in Russia’s battle in Ukraine a “dangerous expansion” of the dispute.

Seoul’s armed forces thinks that North Korea was looking for to modernise its standard war abilities via fight experience obtained in the Russia-Ukraine battle.

NATO principal Mark Rutte had additionally stated that Moscow was offering assistance to Pyongyang’s rocket and nuclear programs for the soldiers.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) stated Monday that Pyongyang is supposedly “preparing for the rotation or additional deployment of soldiers” and providing “240mm rocket launchers and 170mm self-propelled artillery” to the Russian military.

Pyongyang’s participation in Russia’s battle versus Ukraine had actually motivated cautions from Seoul.

South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol, presently put on hold, stated in November that Seoul was “not ruling out the possibility of providing weapons” to Ukraine, which would certainly note a significant change to an enduring plan disallowing the sale of tools to nations in energetic dispute.

hs/hmn/tym