A North Korean soldier who was taken as a prisoner of war while fighting for Russia in Ukraine at the time of his capture in January 2025 (left) and then in October (right), when he spoke to the South Korean broadcaster MBC. (Left: @ZelenskyyUA on X; Right: still from “PD Note” on MBC)
One year after two North Korean soldiers were captured by Ukrainian forces while fighting alongside the Russian military, a new interview with a South Korean broadcaster offered an update on their status.
On Tuesday, MBC’s news program “PD Note” broadcast Episode 1 (“Shadowy Army”) of “The Russian War in Ukraine and the North Korean Military.” The episode focused on the North Korean military’s crucial role in the Russia-Ukraine war, now in its fourth year.
The interview with two North Korean POWs was conducted in Ukraine last October by Kim Yeong-mi, a producer specializing in conflict zones.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed that Ukraine was interrogating two North Korean soldiers who were wounded in the Kursk region of Russia on Jan. 11, 2025.
In photographs viewed around the world, a prisoner given the pseudonym of Ri Kang-un was shown with swollen lips and a bandage wrapped around his chin, while a prisoner referred to by the pseudonym of Paik Pyong-kang had bandaged hands.
That February, People Power Party lawmaker Yu Yong-weon interviewed the two prisoners and passed along their desire to defect to South Korea.
The report by “PD Note” covers the current status of the two prisoners a year after their capture.
“Being alive is such an uncomfortable thing for me.” Still of Ri speaking to MBC’s “PD Note.”
Ri has recovered from his jaw injury, but a noticeable scar remains. He had been deployed to the fighting in Kursk in December 2024. At the time of his capture, his arm had been fractured by one bullet, and his jaw had been fractured by another.
Early in the interview, Ri was noticeably wary of the interviewer.
“Being alive is such an uncomfortable thing for me,” he remarked.
Ri also spoke of his family. “I don’t know if my mother is alive now. I don’t know what has happened to her because of me. I should never have been born.”
“Being taken prisoner is like being a traitor. It’s like turning against your country.”
“Other soldiers blew themselves up so they wouldn’t be taken prisoner, but I didn’t have a chance to do that. If I’d had a grenade, I could have died instead of being captured. For the rest of my life, I’ll be wracked with regret over being unable to die.”
The horrors of war remain vivid for Ri.
“We were deployed last of all. Everybody before us had been taken out. When I heard people talking [about war], it didn’t seem like such a bad thing. But after going to the battlefield and actually becoming a casualty, my attitude changed,” he said.
“Other soldiers blew themselves up so they wouldn’t be taken prisoner, but I didn’t have a chance to do that.” Still of Ri speaking to MBC’s “PD Note.”
“I felt fear and a great deal of pity. It was the first time in my life I’d ever seen combat that was so bloody and gory. A buddy in front of me was killed by a suicide drone that blew his head and torso off. When I went to check on his body, his heart was still pounding and blood was spurting out,” Ri recalled.
“So many of my fellow soldiers died on Russian soil, and I wonder what will happen to all their remains,” he said.
While more than 10,000 North Korean soldiers were reportedly deployed to the Russia-Ukraine war, Ri and Paik are the only two who are known to have been captured alive.
Paik, who has metal pins in his legs and supports himself with crutches, also agreed to the interview. Paik was injured during combat by a drone attack. He was left on the field and captured by Ukrainian forces four days later.
Still of Paik speaking to MBC’s “PD Note.”
“I was fighting for my life when an enemy drone came straight for me. I dashed to take shelter in a rundown warehouse, but the drone spotted me and sent another over. That’s how I got injured,” he explained.
“We had plenty of courage but no combat experience. So when the drones came, we should have shot them down or taken cover, but instead, with our comrades dying, we lost our cool. We were so determined to get vengeance [for our comrades] that even more of us got killed,” Paik said.
Paik hasn’t seen his parents since he joined the army. In fact, he said his parents didn’t even know he’d been sent to war.
“I wouldn’t be a good son if my parents were to suffer because of me. I think a quick death would be better than that,” he remarked.
“We’re all people, and nobody wants to die. Nobody takes life as casually as that. But when people are pushed into a corner, that’s the kind of choice they make,” he added.
“We’re all people, and nobody wants to die. Nobody takes life as casually as that.” Still of Paik speaking to MBC’s “PD Note.”
By Jang Hyeon-eun, staff reporter
Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]