South Korea’s National Intelligence Service confirms that the Ukrainian Defense Forces have captured a DPRK soldier who fought on the side of Russia for the first time.

The Yonhap agency reported on this.

“Through real-time information sharing with a friendly nation’s intelligence organization, (we) confirmed the capture of a wounded North Korean soldier and plans to thoroughly examine the subsequent development,” the National Intelligence Service said in a brief release.

However, the details of how this happened have not yet been disclosed.

On December 26, Militarnyi reported that Ukrainian Telegram channels reported that soldiers of the Special Operations Forces of Ukraine had allegedly captured the first DPRK army soldier in the Kursk region.

“The Special Forces group conducted an operation to destroy the enemy in the Kursk sector.
In addition to the successful completion of the task, there were also trophies:
prisoners, including a mercenary from [North] Korea, and an APC equipped with anti-HEAT protection,” the report outlines.

The published photo captured a wounded and dirty man in a military uniform who was presumably injured.

It should be noted that details about the condition and status of the North Korean soldier are currently unknown.

This is likely the first North Korean soldier to be captured after it was reported on December 14, 2024, that fighters from the DPRK had engaged in combat with units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces in the Kursk region.

On the same day, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the information about the involvement of DPRK soldiers in the battles in the Kursk region.

On December 13, 2024, according to Ukrainian intelligence, North Korean military personnel were put on high alert with orders to await further instructions.

The Ukrainian Defense Forces also got hold of documents issued by the Russians to the North Koreans. Namely, Russian military cards, randomly filled out with the names and surnames of people allegedly born in Russia.