{"id":6377,"date":"2025-01-16T16:00:47","date_gmt":"2025-01-16T21:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/?p=6377"},"modified":"2025-01-16T16:00:47","modified_gmt":"2025-01-16T21:00:47","slug":"zelensky-says-two-north-korean-soldiers-fighting-for-russia-were-captured-in-kursk-region","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/2025\/01\/16\/zelensky-says-two-north-korean-soldiers-fighting-for-russia-were-captured-in-kursk-region\/","title":{"rendered":"Zelensky says two North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia were captured in Kursk region."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Link to article: https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/01\/11\/europe\/zelensky-north-korean-soldiers-korea-intl\/index.html<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On January 9th, two North Korean soldiers were taken alive by Ukrainian special forces and paratroopers in the Kursk region of Russia, making this the first time Kyiv has captured soldiers from the Kursk region of Russia. The Ukrainian Security Service claims that they are being held legally according to international law, and are communicating with the captives through the use of interpreters. One of the North Korean soldiers, found with a Russian military ID card, claimed that he thought he had been sent to Russia for training exercises, not combat. Zelensky stated that the capture of these two soldiers was very difficult because “North Korean military personnel usually execute their wounded to erase any evidence of North Korea’s involvement in the war against Ukraine.” Despite a war spanning nearly 3 years, conflict along the front lines has increased in the past weeks following the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States, with Ukraine invigorating its offensive on Kursk this past Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is extremely important because it demonstrates that not only are there many North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia in the war against Ukraine, but also that these soldiers are being manipulated by their government. Additionally, I believe this speaks to the character of North Korea as a whole, since one of the captives, when asked if he would like to return to his home, said no, he would rather stay in Ukraine. This likely won’t mean much for the region, as the conflict between Ukraine and Russia is still very prevalent and ongoing, but it may concern Russian and North Korean governments, as this is the first time Ukraine has captured soldiers in the Kursk region. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zelensky has already stated that he will trade the two North Korean soldiers for Ukrainian soldiers with Russia. However, considering North Korea’s treatment of its soldiers, from covering a real time military deployment as a training exercise, to the soldier’s reaction to the question “would you like to return home?”, it is highly unlikely that North Korea will fight for the return of its soldiers. They are essentially considered expendable and the North Korean government will not agree to a hostage trade because they do not care about the fate of their soldiers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article connects to the idea of security policies, the way that states engage internationally in order to advance their fundamental interests and ensure national security, determining how aggressive or passive a state will act towards other actors. This can be seen from both perspectives; on the one hand Ukraine has captured enemy soldiers to ensure national security, on the other hand, Russia has deployed North Korean soldiers in order to continue the advancement of their fundamental interest, to take over Ukraine. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Link to article: https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/01\/11\/europe\/zelensky-north-korean-soldiers-korea-intl\/index.html On January 9th, two North Korean soldiers were taken alive by Ukrainian special forces and paratroopers in the Kursk region of Russia, making this the first time Kyiv has captured soldiers from the Kursk region of Russia. The Ukrainian Security Service claims that they are being held legally according to international law, and are communicating with… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":273,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-analysis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/273"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6377"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6377\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6408,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6377\/revisions\/6408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}