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What the capture of two North Korean soldiers meant
Summary
A look back at the announcement of Ukraine's first healthy North Korean prisoners in Kursk Oblast, reported on 11 January 2025.
What did it mean when Kyiv said it held two living North Korean soldiers? On 13 January 2025, the announcement was two days old, and it still stood out among the reports from the Kursk front.
On 11 January 2025, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine had captured two North Korean soldiers in Kursk Oblast, Russia. They were in healthy condition. It was the first such capture since North Korea entered the war.
The condition of the men was the central point. The two North Korean prisoners of war taken earlier had died of their injuries shortly after capture. This time the soldiers were alive and well, which meant Ukraine held North Korean combatants who could be questioned.
A longer alignment
North Korea's backing for Moscow did not begin with the Kursk fighting. It had supported Russia since 2017, when it recognised the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea. In July 2022, it recognised the Russia-backed, self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, and Ukraine responded by severing diplomatic ties with Pyongyang.
The capture therefore put a human face on a relationship that had developed over years. North Korean troops were now present on Russian soil, in the region where Ukrainian forces were operating, and Kyiv had living evidence of it.
