Editor's note: In accordance with the security protocols of the Ukrainian military, soldiers featured in this story are identified by first names and callsigns only.
It was a month-long mission with one primary goal — capturing a North Korean soldier alive.
One of the biggest obstacles facing the Ukrainian forces tasked with the objective while operating in Russia’s Kursk Oblast was overcoming the fanatical, suicidal zeal instilled in Pyongyang's troops.
"(One North Korean soldier) was about to be taken prisoner, but with the words ‘Glory to the Party' or 'Glory to Kim Jong-un,' he blew himself up with a grenade," a Ukraine's Special Operations Forces soldier with the callsign "Borsuk" told the Kyiv Independent.
The mission eventually succeeded earlier this month with the capture of one North Korean soldier by Special Operations Forces and another one by Ukraine’s Airborne Forces. President Volodymyr Zelensky described their capture as "irrefutable evidence" of Pyongyang's involvement in the Kremlin's full-scale war.
According to Ukraine, North Korea has deployed around 12,000 soldiers in Kursk Oblast, where Kyiv launched a surprise cross-border incursion in August 2024.
Neither Russia nor North Korea have officially acknowledged the deployment, which is the latest move in Moscow's ever-increasing — and humiliating — reliance on Pyongyang to bolster its military, following long-running shipments of artillery shells and ballistic missiles.
"Essentially, this was about conveying to the international community that third countries are indeed involved in this war. And that Russia is not as invincible as they claim," Borsuk said.
The Kyiv Independent got exclusive footage of the mission, as well as interviewed Borsuk and his fellow soldier "Bernard," who described how they carried out their task, the moment of capture, and why North Korean troops are far more formidable than their Russian counterparts.
'He still had a grenade with him'
To prove North Korea's involvement definitively, capturing one of their soldiers alive was the only option.
While Borsuk and Bernard could not disclose details of their preparation, timing, location, or the number of personnel involved in the mission, they revealed they had been monitoring a specific area in Kursk Oblast for an extended period of time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to act.
The enemy group operating in the area under surveillance consisted entirely of North Koreans, according to the Ukrainian soldiers.
"We approached the target where we were supposed to operate. We had been observing it and knew their base positions were there," Bernard said.
"We started moving, and contact was made."
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