Seoul, 27 December 2024 (dpa/MIA) - An injured North Korean soldier has been captured by Ukrainian forces, marking the first such capture since Pyongyang deployed combat troops to support Russia's war against Ukraine, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported on Friday.

Seoul's spy agency confirmed that a wounded North Korean soldier had been taken into custody, according to Yonhap.

According to the report, Ukrainian military sources said that the soldier was captured during operations in Russia's western front-line Kursk region, without specifying when the incident occurred.

A photo purporting to show the captured soldier had been circulating on the Telegram messaging app.

North Korea is believed to have sent around 10,000 soldiers to support Russia's invasion of Ukraine. After undergoing a brief training period and being equipped with Russian weaponry, the North Korean troops were reportedly integrated into Russian forces in the Kursk region.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently stated that over 3,000 North Korean soldiers have either been killed or wounded, though this estimate cannot be independently verified.

Photo: screenshot Telegram/Yonhap