TAIPEI, Taiwan – Ukrainian troops have begun broadcasting surrender appeals in Korean, assuring North Korean soldiers fighting in Kursk they will be treated humanely as prisoners of war, according to a Ukrainian activist group. The report comes after Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia had requested a few thousands more troops from North Korea.
As many as 12,000 North Korean soldiers are in Russia to fight Ukrainian forces who occupied parts of the Kursk region in August, according to Ukraine and the United States, although neither Moscow nor Pyongyang has acknowledged their presence.
InformNapalm, an investigative group covering Russia’s war against Ukraine, shared a video of a broadcast on its Telegram channel, saying that Ukrainian forces started radio transmissions aimed at North Korean troops.
“Your leadership is sending you to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Russia started this war 10 years ago,” a man speaking with a South Korean accent can be heard in what InformNapalm said was the radio broadcast.
Radio Free Asia has not been able to independently verify the video.
The radio broadcast is the latest example of Ukraine’s psychological warfare tactics to encourage North Koreans fighting in Kursk to defect.
Ukraine has also been distributing Korean-language leaflets that encourage defection and offer instructions to North Koreans on how to surrender and include promises of humane treatment, and point out the futility of dying in a foreign war.
The leaflets are dropped from drones and even by artillery, to get them to the North Koreans. Integrated with Ukraine’s “I Want to Live” project, the campaign also provides a hotline and Telegram chatbot for safe surrender coordination.
Ukrainian intelligence has released intercepted communications and reports detailing the severe conditions faced by North Korean soldiers under Russian command, aimed to highlight the exploitation and high casualty rates among the troops, fostering doubt and encouraging them to abandon their posts.
Reports have surfaced of North Korean soldiers resorting to suicide, to avoid capture, reflecting the desperate circumstances they face.
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Russia ‘requesting’ more troops
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that Russia was requesting several thousand more troops from North Korea amid losses.
“Right now, we see that another few thousand – perhaps two or three – are in the process of being transferred from North Korea to the Kursk front,” said Zelenskyy during a press conference.
“This is certainly not a sign of strength.”
The Ukrainian leader reiterated the high level of casualties among North Korean soldiers.
“We understand that they have losses – over 4,000 casualties, with about two-thirds killed. The morale of North Korean troops has also declined because they have seen how many of them have fled,” he said.
“It is important to recognise that Russia continues negotiations with North Korea on the deployment of military personnel, weapons, and missiles. This is a clear case of another country being drawn into the war,” Zelenskyy said, adding that he intends to discuss the issue with U.S. President Donald Trump’s team.
Edited by Mike Firn.