'They're insolent': Russian POWs speak about North Koreans sent to Ukraine war
Illustrative photo: Russians talk about soldiers DPRK sent to the war (Getty Images)
Captured Russian soldiers complained about the military the DPRK sent to Russia to participate in the war against Ukraine. The Russians claimed that the Koreans' behavior was bold and reckless.
RBC-Ukraine received exclusive footage of the interrogation of Russian prisoners of war from sources in the military. The prisoners spoke about the behavior and fighting of the North Korean military, which was sent to Russian president Vladimir Putin by Kim Jong Un.
'They're reckless': Russian POWs speak about North Koreans sent to Ukraine war #NorthKoreans #WarinUkraine
— RBC-Ukraine (@NewsUkraineRBC) December 22, 2024
Read more: https://t.co/hOlBVthfQr pic.twitter.com/DGxXTSjFai
One of the prisoners said that the North Korean military was held and trained separately from the Russian military. According to the Russians, DPRK soldiers "don't have theory but they have a lot of practice.” The North Koreans have the same dugouts, but they are located separately.
“I saw them for the second time already on the front line, when they were fighting. There were many killed among them, many wounded, and even more of them alive. They are insolent, they can take away a rifle from an ordinary soldier,” the prisoner said.
According to the Russians, the DPRK military is thrown into battle first, followed by Russian soldiers.
“They say that they're headless, that they don't care where to go and how they go. Insane guys,” the Russian said.
There was a case when the Koreans opened fire on the Russians while they were moving to their positions. Another time, a DPRK soldier shot his comrades in the legs.
“I know they eat well. If they eat raw smoked sausage, the most delicious thing we ate in the dining room was buckwheat porridge. They are supplied with everything, they have ammunition and other weapons. They all have AK-12s. Rifles, machine guns, and everything is newer than ours... And we had only old AK-47s,” he added.
Another prisoner said that he first met DPRK soldiers at the Postoyalie Dvory training ground in the Kursk region. There were about 700 Koreans there.
He confirmed the words of another prisoner about North Korean soldiers handling weapons carelessly. He added that one of the North Koreans shot his compatriots in the legs at the training ground, and in another case, “an instructor was shot in the stomach.”
He complained about the language barrier and misunderstandings with North Korean soldiers.
“To be honest, the farther away from the Koreans, the calmer it is... They shoot at quadcopters during the day, at FPVs, at anything that flies. It doesn't matter if it's Russian or Ukrainian FPV. They even shoot them down,” the prisoner said.
DPRK joins war against Ukraine
North Korea has previously handed over artillery ammunition and ballistic missiles to Russia to use against Ukraine.
In the fall, the DPRK also sent soldiers to Russia, who were thrown into the Kursk region. Pyongyang's soldiers are taking part in hostilities against Ukraine. According to Ukrainian intelligence, North Korea could have sent more than 10,000 troops.
The intelligence reported that the combined units of the DPRK and Russia lost about 200 soldiers. Moscow is trying to hide the losses of North Korean troops at the front.
