Captured North Korean Soldier: "I Didn't Know I Was Going to Russia or That Ukraine Was the Enemy"

Zelensky Releases Additional Video
of Interrogation of Captured North Korean Soldier

A North Korean prisoner of war captured by the Ukrainian military said that he came to Russia without knowing that he had been deployed or even that he was deployed.

On the 20th (local time), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky released an additional 5-minute and 30-second video on X (formerly Twitter) showing the interrogation of a North Korean prisoner of war.

North Korean soldier receiving a Ukrainian newspaper. Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine, captured on X.

The soldier appearing in the video is one of the two North Korean soldiers revealed on the 11th. President Zelensky had claimed that the Ukrainian military captured two North Korean soldiers in Kursk, western Russia.

In this video, the North Korean soldier lay on a bed and answered questions from a Ukrainian Security Service investigator through a Korean interpreter. He said, "Even after coming out here, I did not know that we were going to Russia, nor that our enemy was the Ukrainian people." When asked, "Do you know about the North Korean military casualties?" he replied, "There were many among the comrades who came together, but I do not know the total number."

He said that in North Korea, one must join the military after graduating from school, and that he enlisted at the age of 17. When asked, "Does your mother know about your deployment (to Russia)?" he answered, "No." The soldier said he did not know about other countries, and about South Korea, he only knew that "there are fewer mountains than in North Korea."

When asked by the investigator, "Did you receive training on how to use Russian weapons and military equipment?" the North Korean soldier said, "They select a few people and teach them how to use Russian weapons and equipment," but he himself had never received such training.

The soldier, who identified himself as belonging to the "Reconnaissance Bureau 2nd Battalion 1st Company," explained that after arriving in Russia by ship from North Korea, he boarded a train and traveled overland. He said that at the time, just over 100 North Korean soldiers were on the ship, and the same number boarded the train. Regarding the type of ship, he thought it was a Russian vessel and said it was a general cargo ship rather than a warship.

President Zelensky posted this video along with a message in Korean. He said, "The North Korean prisoners of war and the Ukrainian Security Service investigators continue to communicate," and added, "Through the prisoners' words, we confirmed that these soldiers were moved to Russian territory, trained, and completely cut off from such information. All facts about North Korea's involvement in the war will be confirmed."