A South Korean media outlet has reported that a North Korean soldier taken prisoner by Ukrainian forces said he believed false information that South Korean troops were in Ukraine and attacking with drones.



South Korea has not sent troops to Ukraine.



The South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported on Wednesday that two North Korean soldiers captured in Kursk, western Russia, were interviewed at a POW camp in Ukraine.



One of them, aged 26, said he was told he was being sent abroad for training as a student, and that he had no idea he would be participating in combat.



He said he was told after his arrival in Kursk what he would be doing.



The soldier explained he had no combat experience, and that the first wave of troops suffered heavy losses in drone strikes and artillery fire. He said the Russian artillery failed to support them properly, and this resulted in unnecessary casualties.



The soldier said that in his army, being captured is seen as betrayal, so if he had a grenade he would have tried to kill himself.



When he was in North Korea he wanted to study and go to University after finishing military service. He said he hopes to apply for asylum and go to South Korea to make his dream come true.



The soldier revealed that the North Korean security officers monitoring the troops told them that all Ukrainian military drone operators were actually South Korean soldiers, apparently in an effort to fuel hostility with misinformation.