Ukraine has captured two North Korean soldiers, aged 20 and 26, as prisoners of war on the battlefield in Russia’s Kursk Oblast. One of the soldiers said that he thought he was being sent to Russia for training,” not for combat, during interrogation by the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU), according to South Korea’s National Intelligence Service. He only realized he had been deployed for war after arriving in Russia.
The Kim Jong-un regime sent over 10,000 young North Koreans into dangerous circumstances, concealing the fact that they would be fighting someone else’s war. Imagine the shock and despair a North Korean soldier must have felt to arrive in Russia expecting a training exercise, only to find himself in the middle of a battlefield. Wounded North Korean prisoners of war revealed that they “went four to five days without food or water.” This is the grim reality of North Korean soldiers, deceived into war and used as cannon fodder. Unfamiliar drone attacks have also killed many soldiers.
Reports of the atrocities faced by deployed North Korean soldiers continue to surface. Ukrainian forces told British media that North Korean troops were being used as “human demining tools,” forced to walk in lines through minefields, detonating the mines with their bodies—a barbaric method used by Russia during World War II. Unfamiliar drone strikes have killed many soldiers, while others have succumbed to the harsh Russian winter.
Ukrainian forces told U.S. media that North Korean soldiers often choose death to capture, likely out of fear that their families back home would face severe repercussions if they were taken alive. Reports have also detailed accounts of grieving North Korean families being coerced into signing pledges to remain silent about the deaths of their loved ones. They are forced into silence, even as they mourn their children—a reality akin to living in hell.
Before sending troops to Russia, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s coffers were reportedly running dry due to deteriorating relations with China and international sanctions against North Korea. Russia, struggling in its war against Ukraine, reportedly pays combatants around $2,000 per month. With 10,000 North Korean soldiers deployed, Kim stands to earn hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
However, forcing soldiers into a war where death is almost guaranteed would risk internal unrest, including resistance from the troops. To avoid such risks, the regime resorted to deceiving its soldiers about the true nature of their deployment. This shameless exploitation of young North Koreans to line Kim’s pockets underscores the regime’s appalling disregard for human rights.
For captured North Korean soldiers to be recognized as prisoners of war under international law, both North Korea and Russia would need to officially acknowledge their participation in the conflict. Under international law, prisoners of war should be repatriated to their home country. Neither country has made such acknowledgment, and one of the captured soldiers testified that he thought he was “sent for training.” Without formal recognition, they could be classified as “unlawful combatants,” stripping them of the protections afforded to prisoners of war. The South Korean government must take steps to bring captured North Korean soldiers who express a desire to defect to South Korea. After all, they are considered South Korean citizens under the Constitution.
