Captured North Korean troops in Ukraine face deadly orders to protect regime secrets

Reuters reported the information.

According to Ukraine's Special Operations Forces, Ukrainian troops discovered over a dozen slain North Korean soldiers after a battle in Russia’s Kursk region. One soldier was still alive, but as they moved closer, he detonated a grenade, killing himself. 

This incident adds to growing evidence from the battlefield, intelligence reports, and defector testimonies that some North Korean soldiers are taking desperate actions while supporting Russia’s three-year war in Ukraine.

"Self-detonation and suicides: that's the reality about North Korea. These soldiers who left home for a fight there have been brainwashed and are truly ready to sacrifice themselves for Kim Jong Un," said Kim, a 32-year-old former North Korean soldier who defected to the South in 2022, requesting he only be identified by his surname due to fears of reprisals against his family left in the North.

Ukrainian and Western assessments estimate that North Korea deployed about 11,000 soldiers to Russia's Kursk region, where Ukraine launched a surprise attack last year. More than 3,000 North Korean troops have been killed or wounded. Initially dismissed as "fake news," Russian President Putin later acknowledged their presence in Russia, with a North Korean official claiming the deployment was lawful.

Ukraine this week released videos of what it said were two captured North Korean soldiers. One of the soldiers expressed a desire to stay in Ukraine, and the other to return to North Korea, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

North Korea's deadly orders

According to the outlet, North Korea’s deployment to Russia is its largest since the Korean War, with smaller roles in Vietnam and Syria. The U.S. warns this could boost North Korea's military capability, but high casualties suggest its troops are unprepared for modern combat, such as drone warfare.

South Korea’s intelligence reports show North Korean soldiers are ordered to commit suicide if captured, with memos emphasizing self-destruction to protect their families and show loyalty.

"Recently, it has been confirmed that a North Korean soldier was in danger of being captured by the Ukrainian military, so he shouted for General Kim Jong Un and pulled out a grenade to try to blow himself up, but was killed," Lee Seong-kweun, who sits on the South Korean parliament's intelligence committee, said.

Ukraine has offered to exchange captured North Korean soldiers for Ukrainians held in Russia. However, many North Korean troops fear returning to Pyongyang, where punishment for capture may be worse than death.

"Becoming a prisoner of war means treason. Being captured means you are a traitor. Leave one last bullet, that's what we are talking about in the military," said Kim, the North Korean defector and former soldier.