Ukraine captured two wounded North Korean soldiers who were fighting on behalf of Russia in a Russian border region, South Korea’s intelligence service said.

The partnership, according to officials who spoke to ABC News, has been essential to Ukraine defending itself as Russia invaded almost three years ago.

About 1,000 North Korean soldiers are believed to have been killed while fighting Ukrainian forces in Russia's western front-line region of Kursk, a news report said Thursday. Out of the estimated 11,

"I didn't even know who we were fighting against," the captured soldier from Pyongyang told Ukraine's Security Service.

In a statement posted on X, Zelenskyy said he had instructed Ukraine's security service to allow journalists access to the captured soldiers.

South Korea's intelligence agency estimates that approximately 300 North Korean soldiers have been killed and another 2,700 injured while fighting alongside Russian forces against Ukraine. This marks North Korea's first participation in a large-scale conflict since the 1950-53 Korean War.

The December 2024 cyber-attack on the country’s state registers, was attributed to Russian military intelligence services

Ukraine has captured two injured North Korean soldiers from the battlefield in Russia’s Kursk region and transferred them to Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday.

The soldiers of the Korean People's Army captured from the front lines of the war in Ukraine appeared unwilling to defect from North Korea.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy predicted that his nation's forces would "undoubtedly" capture more North Korean troops.

Ukraine released no audio recording of the prisoners but said they were talking through Korean interpreters working "in cooperation" with South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS).

South Korean intelligence has reported that at least 300 North Korean soldiers have been killed and another 2,700 wounded in the war against Ukraine. Source: South Korean news agency Yonhap Details: The National Intelligence Service (NIS) of South Korea shared this information with lawmakers during a closed session of the parliamentary intelligence committee,