North Korean POWs unaware of their location in Russia’s Kursk region - media

The Wall Street Journal reported the information.

According to the North Korean soldiers, they were ordered to avoid capture at all costs, even blowing themselves up if necessary. North Korean secret police conducted ideological sessions in Russia, emphasizing that surrender was equivalent to treason.

Training continued even under fire from Ukrainian artillery. Military commanders read a letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which some soldiers were ordered to copy by hand: "I miss you very much, comrades," Kim wrote in his New Year's greeting.

Both men arrived in Russia last fall along with approximately 12,000 North Korean soldiers, who were tasked with helping Moscow reclaim Ukrainian-occupied territory in Russia's Kursk region.

The two captured soldiers, 21-year-old Paek and 26-year-old Ri, are currently receiving treatment for their injuries and giving testimonies. Paek is mostly bedridden, wounded in both legs. Ri has injuries to his hand and jaw.

The outlet noted that Paek's deployment to Russia happened without prior warning. In November 2024, he was transported by train to the Russian Far East, where, according to him, he was issued a Russian army uniform and a Russian military ID. Not knowing Cyrillic, he couldn’t recognize the name: "I didn’t know I was going to Russia. I only realized it when I arrived." He was given a bulletproof vest and an assault rifle and began training. Drone involvement was key in the training.

Paek then arrived at the Russian-Ukrainian border and was sent to a network of bunkers near the front line. It was at that moment that he realized he was at war.

"I had only heard about the war before. Actually being in one was surreal," Paek stated.

The second North Korean prisoner, Ri, a sniper in the reconnaissance bureau, said that he was motivated to fight by statements from North Korean leadership claiming that South Korean forces were fighting alongside Ukrainians. In October, he boarded a Russian naval ship in Vladivostok, hoping to gain "real combat experience," he said.

In Kursk, Ri was informed that he was participating in the battle to liberate the Russian region from occupying Ukrainian forces.

"I fought as if Russia were my homeland. I don’t know why, but I wasn’t afraid," Ri commented.

In the letter read to Paek by his commanders before the New Year, Kim Jong Un praised North Korean troops serving abroad. He called them heroes and said he prayed for their safe return.

"You have endured painful sacrifices and joyful victories in the dear battles. True comradeship and a solemn sense of patriotism," reads a copy of the letter, which Ukrainian soldiers seized from a deceased North Korean soldier.

In early January, he was sent to a unit of 10 North Koreans that blocked a strategic road used by Ukrainians. They advanced on foot, placing obstacles on the road to stop vehicles. The North Korean soldiers came under artillery fire and drone attack. It was during this time that Paek suffered shrapnel wounds to his legs. He contemplated suicide according to North Korean military protocol. However, he lost consciousness before he could take his own life. He then lay on a cold forest floor for five days, losing blood. The rest were either killed or retreated. On January 9, Ukrainian Defense Forces found him and took him prisoner. Ukrainian soldiers in an interview mentioned that the North Korean waved a grenade when they approached, threatening to blow himself up. They calmed Paek, fed him, and provided first aid. According to Ukrainian officials, the gangrene in his legs was so severe that later, several of his toes had to be amputated. Apart from the Russians, whom he saw from a distance in Kursk, Ukrainian special forces were the first foreigners he encountered.

"I thought foreigners would be very different from us North Koreans. Maybe even strange. Seeing them here, I see that there is nothing different between them and us. They are all good people," says Paek.

Soldier Ri was captured by Ukrainians on the same day. According to him, he was the only one who survived out of three units sent to assault Ukrainian positions. He said that the bodies of at least five North Koreans lay near him in the forest, where he was found in critical condition after being injured in the hand and jaw.

Both Paek and Ri acknowledged that returning to North Korea as former prisoners of war could be dangerous for them. The South Korean government has stated that it will accept any North Korean soldier willing to desert, saying that these men would be persecuted in their homeland.

"I don't know if Russian and Ukrainian soldiers are fighting for money. But we don't get paid for participating in the war. We get nothing from this. But it's an order, so I fought," said Paek.

• According to South Korean intelligence sources, North Korea deploys additional forces in Russia's Kursk region, but the exact size of the contingent is currently unknown.