Last Saturday, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, published on the X social network photos of two servicemen of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), captured in battle by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This incident became historic, as the North Korean military had not been captured in battle since the end of the Korean War in 1953.
Video recordings of interrogations, in which prisoners admit that they do not know which country they are in, have also appeared on the Internet. When they are asked if they want to return home, one nods his head "yes", and the other says: "I want to live in Ukraine."
As Sokil Park, the director of Freedom in North Korea, points out, these two people, caught in circumstances immeasurably different from those they have known all their lives, will be scared, confused and faced with an "impossible" choice.
"Leaving North Korea is very difficult. Not necessarily even because of indoctrination, but because this is your home. Your family is here, and for most people this is a huge factor," he says. "There is also the fear that if you decide not to return home, what might happen to your family members?"
Daniel Tudor, co-author of the book North Korea Confidential, says the consequences for alleged traitors can be severe. "They will calculate like this: 'I can live in Europe and have a better life, but on the other hand, what could happen to my mom and dad?' The regime can send your family to forced labor camps, possibly for a very long time.”
Sokil added that the soldiers likely did not know their rights as prisoners of war and may have made their statements under the belief that any wrong answer could lead to torture or death.
According to Sokil, the refugees he has worked with describe starting a new life seeking asylum in another country as stepping out of a time machine for North Korean defectors.
"It's like someone from Victorian England came to modern England." Although the foundations of human society are largely the same, it is clear that a different level of technology is used here. They may be surprised by such basic things as the availability of hot water or a toilet in the house," he notes.
Shortly after the North Koreans were sent to fight against Ukraine, there were reports that soldiers who had never before had free access to the Internet became addicted to online pornography. Although Sokil is skeptical of these unverified claims, he says that for defectors, "the spaces of the Internet can be overwhelming at first."
It is believed that in exchange for the supply of troops, Kim Jong-un receives access to Moscow's advanced military technology, as well as food, resources and useful experience in warfare.
"The blood of ordinary soldiers is always useful, because it is very important to have real combat experience," says Professor Mark Galeotti, a senior researcher at the Royal United Services Institute think tank. "It gives them, and most importantly - their officers, the opportunity to see what modern warfare of the 21st century looks like, and to take these lessons."
North Korean soldiers in Ukraine - the latest news
It will be recalled that the head of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, called the military participation of the DPRK in the war in Ukraine a "strategic mistake", noting the "inefficiency" of the use of North Korean soldiers by the Russian army.
Analysts of the American Institute for the Study of War have calculated that at the current rate of losses, the 12,000-strong contingent of North Korean troops in the Kursk region will be destroyed in the next three months.
