Two North Korean soldiers were arrested during fighting in the southern region of Kursk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday.
The men survived despite their injuries in the battle and were taken to Kiev, where the Ukrainian intelligence service was interrogating them, Zelensky wrote on social media.
The media will be given access to the prisoners, he said: “The world must know what is happening.”
It was not his first report about North Korean hostages. However, the former prisoners died from their injuries, according to Zelensky.
North Korea is believed to have sent up to 12,000 troops to Russia to support its all-out invasion of Ukraine, which is set to be launched in February 2022.
Moscow is currently using North Koreans to reinforce its units in the offensive in the Kursk region, parts of which Ukrainian troops took by surprise last August.
According to both Ukrainian and US estimates, the North Koreans lost the most there.
Zelensky has attached pictures to his documents that are said to show prisoners.
It is difficult to capture North Korean soldiers alive, he wrote. Russian and North Korean soldiers would rather kill wounded North Koreans than allow them to be arrested, he said.
“Like all prisoners, these two North Korean soldiers were provided with the necessary medical care,” Zelensky wrote.
Under international humanitarian law, prisoners of war cannot be exposed. According to the Red Cross, reports on prisoners of war are not prohibited, but hostages should not be disclosed.
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