North Korean troops choosing suicide over capture by Ukraine, boasts Pyongyang's state media

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North Korean troops choosing suicide over capture by Ukraine, boasts Pyongyang's state media

Published: 01 Sep. 2025, 14:55 Updated: 01 Sep. 2025, 17:44

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

An undated photo released by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Aug. 22 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, right, fixing a hero medal onto a soldier's uniform during a ceremony to award state commendations to commanders and combatants deployed in unspecified overseas operations, in Pyongyang, North Korea. [EPA/YONHAP]

North Korea has confirmed through state television that its troops deployed to Russia’s Kursk front are engaging in acts of suicidal bravery, airing footage on Sunday that praised the actions as “heroic sacrifice.”

North Korea's state-owned broadcaster, Korean Central Television (KCTV), revealed cases in which soldiers killed themselves rather than surrender and detonated grenades when they ran out of ammunition.

KCTV named Socialist Patriotic Youth League members Yoon Jeong-hyeok, 20, and Woo Wi-hyeok, 19, and said the pair “embraced each other and detonated a grenade” after enemy forces surrounded them while they tried to retrieve the bodies of fallen comrades.

KCTV also identified Socialist Patriotic Youth League member Ri Gwang-eun, 22, and said he detonated a grenade after he saw rescuers being shot down. When the blast severed his left arm, he held another grenade to his head with his right hand and detonated it.

The broadcaster said Socialist Patriotic Youth League member Rim Hong-nam, 20, “opened a passage with his body” while clearing mines ahead of an assault and died in the process, and named Workers’ Party member Ham Jeong-hyeon, 31, who it said blocked an enemy suicide drone with his body and saved 15 soldiers.

The broadcaster scrolled the names of hundreds of dead soldiers and called their deaths “the beginning of a shining eternity.”

KCTV also aired letters that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent to deployed troops.

“I pray again and again for the souls of our brave officers and soldiers who fell while loyally carrying out orders on a faraway battlefield,” Kim wrote. “Recover their bodies with care and, after victory, bring them to me.”

In a New Year’s letter dated Jan. 1, Kim wrote, “You protect the country’s prosperity and honor with your blood as you push through the flames of fierce battle. Please, let everyone return safely.”

The footage KCTV revealed also included nighttime scenes of troops flying out aboard Russian aircraft, emphasizing that few people were aware of the deployments.

North Korean people, officers and soldiers of the Korean People's Army pay respect to the statues of former North Korean leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il on Mansu Hill in Pyongyang, North Korea on July 8. [AP/YONHAP]

Kim approved the deployment on Aug. 28 last year, with North Korea beginning to send troops in late October.

The regime publicly acknowledged the deployment on April 28 this year.

North Korea also released a document signed by Kim on Saturday outlining an “operational plan and countermeasures for the Kursk liberation attack,” part of a broader disclosure of the decision-making process surrounding the country’s troop deployment.

Kim also met with the families of deployed soldiers on Friday and expressed regret for their loss.

North Korea’s official newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported on Saturday that Kim met bereaved families on Friday at Mokran House in Pyongyang and “warmly consoled them for the distinguished service their relatives rendered during overseas military operations.”

“I feel deep regret for not being able to bring back our officers and soldiers who fell on distant battlefields,” Kim said. “I apologize once again to all the families for failing to protect their precious lives.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]