Report: Ukraine's First North Korean POW Dies

A North Korean soldier became the first of his country taken as a prisoner of war by Ukraine shortly before dying of his injuries, according to reports. The Yonhap news agency reported the death Friday, citing a statement from South Korea's spy agency, which had previously confirmed Ukraine's capture of an injured soldier whose photo was reportedly circulating on the Telegram app. Seoul's National Intelligence Service said information received "through real-time intelligence sharing with allies" indicated the soldier had died from "serious injuries," per the BBC and CNN. It's unclear where he was captured.

Neither North Korea nor Russia have confirmed North Korean soldiers are fighting for Russia, though US, Ukrainian, and South Korean intelligence estimates indicate as many as 12,000 North Korean soldiers are reinforcing Russia's military, especially in the Kursk border region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that more than 3,000 North Koreans have been killed or wounded in Kursk, per the BBC. Ukraine has accused Russia of trying to conceal North Korean units with fake identification documents indicating they are Russian. And last week, Zelensky accused Russian troops of burning the bodies of North Korean soldiers killed in fighting. (More Russia-Ukraine war stories.)