North Korean troops told to choose suicide over capture in Ukraine: Seoul

SEOUL -- North Korean soldiers deployed to fight against Ukraine have been instructed to take their own lives to avoid capture, according to an assessment by South Korea's spy agency.

South Korea's National Intelligence Service told lawmakers Monday that over 300 North Korean troops have died along with more than 2,700 wounded while supporting Russia's war efforts. A lawmaker later provided a summary of the briefing to reporters.

Among the dead soldiers, notes were discovered indicating that the regime pressured the troops to kill themselves rather than be taken prisoner, the NIS alleged. Some notes contained hopes of joining the ruling Workers' Party of Korea or being pardoned.

In one account, a soldier on the verge of being captured tried to blow himself up with a grenade while yelling "General Kim Jong Un." The soldier was shot dead before carrying out the act, the NIS said.

On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his military captured two North Korean soldiers. The next day, Zelenskyy offered to hand over the soldiers to Pyongyang if Kim can organize an exchange for Ukrainian troops being held prisoner in Russia.

According to the NIS, the two captured soldiers belonged to the Reconnaissance General Bureau, a North Korean military intelligence organ. The soldiers testified they were sent to battle without being promised salaries, but instead notified they would be treated as heroes, the NIS said.

News that soldiers have been sent to fight Ukraine has spread throughout North Korea, and families of the deployed have voiced fear and concern, the NIS alleged. Those families are being compensated with food and living necessities, the spy agency said.

Citizens with no connection to the troops hope Russia will provide aid that improves the livelihoods of the North Korean public, according to the NIS.

South Korea's spy agency also spoke of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump potentially engaging in talks with Kim. If complete nuclear disarmament by North Korea proves difficult to achieve in the short term, the two sides could cut smaller deals, such as a nuclear freeze or a partial disarmament, according to the NIS.

It will be imperative for South Korea to prevent any deals on this front that exclude Seoul, the NIS said.