Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that “several” wounded North Korean soldiers died after being captured by Ukrainian forces, as he accused Russia of throwing them into battle with “minimal protection”.
“Today there were reports about several soldiers from North Korea. Our soldiers managed to take them prisoner. But they were very seriously wounded and could not be resuscitated,” Zelensky said in an evening address posted on social media.
Earlier Friday, South Korea’s spy agency reported that a North Korean soldier who was taken during Russia’s battle against Ukraine had passed away from his injuries.
Zelensky did not say the number of North Koreans killed after being taken prisoner by Ukrainian forces.
In August, Ukraine launched a surprise invasion of the western Kursk border region, where North Korea has dispatched hundreds of troops to aid Russia’s forces.
Zelensky has described the deployment as a significant step up in the battle, which has lasted almost three years.
Ukraine has said it has inflicted heavy losses on the North Korean troops claims repeated by Zelensky on Friday.
“They have a lot of losses. A lot. And we see that the Russian military and North Korean supervisors are not interested in the survival of these Koreans at all,” he said.
“Everything is being done to make it impossible for us to capture Koreans. The Russians send them on assaults so that they have minimal protection,” he added.
Additionally, the Ukrainian leader urged China, which maintains strong political and military connections with both Pyongyang and Moscow, to exert pressure on North Korea.
“If China is sincere in its statements that the war should not expand, it needs to exert a corresponding influence on Pyongyang,” he said.
