Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky released a bizarre video of a captured North Korean soldier appearing to be “unaware of Ukraine”.
He posted the video on his X account, showing the soldier lying in a bed looking dazed and giving muted responses to the questions he’s asked.
The North Korean claimed he was alone on the battlefield for three to five days before Ukrainian forces found him, gave him “an injection of some kind”, and captured him.
He also claimed to have been given documents containing a fake name, which he could not remember.
Mr Zelensky wrote alongside the video: “Communication between captured North Korean soldiers and Ukrainian investigators continues. We are establishing the facts. We are verifying all the details.
“The world will learn the full truth about how Russia is exploiting such guys, who grew up in a complete information vacuum, utterly unaware of Ukraine, and who are being used by Russia solely to prolong and escalate this war. Only Russia needs this war.
“I am grateful to all our warriors who are defending Ukraine’s positions. I am also grateful to everyone in the world who is helping us to protect lives and our independence.”
The Ukrainian president added there “will undoubtedly be more” Norh Korean soldiers captured by his troops, saying it’s “only a matter of time”.
It is not yet clear what is happening to the captured North Korean soldiers, but Mr Zelensky said there “may be other options available” for them if they don’t want to return home or to Russia.
These undisclosed options would also be extended to those who “express a desire to bring peace closer by spreading the truth about this war in Korean”.
This comes after recent reports of North Korean soldiers committing suicide on the battlefield to avoid being captured by Ukraine. The Times said one was heard screaming “General Kim Jong-un” before being shot and killed rather than captured.
Lee Seong-kweun, a member of South Korea’s National Assembly, also claimed that “in the memos carried by those killed … North Korean authorities emphasised self-destruction and suicide before capture”.
A former North Korean soldier going by the name Kim added that suicide is “the reality” of being a soldier for his country.
He told Reuters: “Self-detonation and suicides: that’s the reality about North Korea. These soldiers who left home for a fight there have been brainwashed and are truly ready to sacrifice themselves for Kim Jong-un.”
Kyiv has claimed that 4,000 soldiers from the North have been killed, but this figure is hard to verify and it’s not clear how this conclusion was made.