Testimony of a North Korean soldier who was captured in Kursk. Photo: video from Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Facebook page

A captured DPRK soldier has shared shocking details about his capture by the Russian army. According to him, he and about a hundred of his compatriots arrived in Russia by ship and were taken by train. The fighter noted that some of his comrades had been trained with heavy Russian military equipment, but he had not, Ukrainska Pravda reports.

The man said that he joined the DPRK army at the age of 17 and served conscripted service, not knowing that he would be fighting in Russia. He stated that he had no idea who he would be fighting against and that “there were a lot of casualties” among his fellow soldiers.

During the interrogation, the prisoner also shared his limited knowledge of the world outside North Korea. When asked about South Korea, he said that he only knew that “South Korea has fewer mountains than North Korea”. This fact is striking, as most North Koreans do not have access to information about other countries due to strict censorship.

At present, the prisoner’s mother has no information about her son’s whereabouts, which only underscores the tragedy and isolation faced by relatives of people who have been taken prisoner.