Reports are emerging that North Korean troops deployed on the Kursk front in Russia are resorting to suicide rather than surrendering or being taken prisoner by Ukrainian forces. Trees in the war zone have reportedly become a site for such desperate acts.
On February 5, the Ukrainian military-focused Telegram channel Brati po Zbroi (Brothers in Arms) shared disturbing images suggesting that suicide among North Korean soldiers is becoming systematic. One of the photos showed a tree with the Korean word Haneul (meaning “sky”) inscribed on it, with a rope hanging from its branch and a soldier’s body lying beneath it.
The channel stated, “Ukrainian forces have been discovering the bodies of [North Korean] soldiers at specific locations marked with special Korean inscriptions,” noting that the word “sky” could be seen in the image.
Further testimonies came from Ukrainian soldiers involved in capturing North Korean troops. In an interview with the Associated Press (AP), they described incidents of extreme measures taken by North Korean soldiers upon realizing they were about to be captured.
One account detailed a wounded North Korean soldier who had fallen behind on the battlefield. When Ukrainian troops approached to provide first aid, he initially did not resist and even called them “brothers,” asking for cigarettes and water. Ukrainian soldiers discreetly confiscated a grenade he was carrying.
However, as soon as the soldier realized that the troops helping him were Ukrainians, he began frantically searching his empty pockets for the missing grenade, seemingly intent on using it on himself.
Another Ukrainian paratrooper described a separate incident involving a North Korean soldier who had just been captured. As a Ukrainian transport vehicle arrived to take him away, the soldier suddenly ran toward a concrete pillar and attempted to smash his head against it in an apparent suicide attempt.
BY JIHYE KIM, YOUNGNAM KIM [kim.youngnam@koreadaily.com]
