The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported that two men are in Kyiv and receiving medical care.
They speak only Korean and are being interrogated with the help of South Korea’s NIS (National Intelligence Service), the intelligence service said.
On Saturday, Zelensky published photos of wounded men on social networks.
He also shared a photo of a red Russian military ID showing his place of birth as Turan, in the Republic of Tuva, which is near Mongolia.
The special service stated that at the time of the capture of the prisoners, one of the soldiers had a Russian military ticket issued in the name of another person with a residence permit in the Republic of Tuva. The second had no documents.
The special service said that during the interrogation, one of the soldiers told the security forces that the document was issued to him in Russia in the fall of 2024.
He is believed to have said that at the time, some of North Korea’s combat units had undergone a week of interoperability training.
“It is noteworthy that the prisoner… emphasizes that he allegedly went to training, and not to fight against Ukraine,” the SBU said in a statement.
A statement from Zelensky’s office on Saturday said that the Russians are “trying to hide the fact that these are military personnel from North Korea by issuing them with documents proving that they are from Tuva or other territories under Moscow’s control.”
Intelligence reported that the soldier with the ID card said he was born in 2005 and has been serving in North Korea as a gunner since 2021.
