The North Korean soldiers detained in Ukraine said that before leaving for Russia last year, they were told they were being sent for training outside the country, local media reported on Wednesday.
The South Korean newspaper Chosunilbo interviewed the two North Korean soldiers in Ukraine, who were captured last month by Ukrainian forces.
The soldiers revealed they were affiliated with the Reconnaissance General Bureau, the intelligence agency that manages North Korea’s clandestine operations.
A North Korean soldier, Ri, said that he had been told he was being sent “abroad for training” when he left the city on Oct. 10 last year.
Ri added that he now wants to go to South Korea.
As of now, both the soldiers are held in solitary confinement after they were captured on Jan 9.
Last month, the South Korean National Intelligence Service claimed that at least 300 North Korean soldiers were killed and 2,700 injured in combat with Ukraine.
Earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that North Korean soldiers are “fleeing” the frontline in Russia’s border region of Kursk, where Kyiv launched an incursion some months ago.
In October last year, the Pentagon said that North Korea sent around 10,000 troops to eastern Russia; however, Pyongyang has maintained silence even after reports of alleged deaths and injuries among its troops in Russia.