By Yi Wonju
SEOUL, March 7 (Yonhap) -- A North Korean soldier captured by Ukraine has said he used jamming guns to neutralize Ukrainian drones, a South Korean lawmaker who recently met the soldier said Friday, in a rare glimpse into the North's battlefield tactic to aid Moscow's war against Kyiv.
Rep. Yu Yong-weon of the ruling People Power Party made the remark in an interview with Yonhap News Agency as he released an audio clip of his talks with the soldier, identified only by his surname Ri. Ri is one of the two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukrainian forces in January during combat against Kyiv in Russia's Kursk region.
"The prisoners of war captured belong to the Reconnaissance General Bureau, and it appears that the Russian military provided them with weapons from its special forces," Yu said following his trip to Ukraine from Feb. 23-26.
"This shows that the North Korean soldiers were not simply suffering defeats but were also using jamming technology and that they are learning through such experiences."
Yu Yong-weon, a lawmaker of South Korea's ruling People Power Party, gives an interview with Yonhap News Agency at the National Assembly in Seoul on March 7, 2025, about his recent meetings with two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukraine. (Yonhap)
Ri told Yu there were six drone-jamming guns in his company, and that the drones were "taken down easily at first, but it seemed like the Ukrainian troops changed the frequency because they didn't go down as well as they did."
North Korean troops were initially believed to lack understanding of drones, according to an assessment by South Korea's spy agency in January. Ri's comments reveal for the first time that North Korean soldiers have been using drone jamming guns supplied by the Russian military on the battlefield.
"The North Korean soldiers are being deployed, shedding blood, suffering enormous sacrifices and gaining real combat experience," Yu said. "If a significant number of these North Korean soldiers return to North Korea alive, they could pose a direct threat to us in the event of a contingency in the future."
Ri also told Yu about the role of Russian troops within the joint unit of North Korean and Russian troops, saying there were seven Russian soldiers assigned to his company to help communicate with their authorities, coordinate artillery support, provide logistical support, conduct reconnaissance with drones and share reconnaissance data with North Korean soldiers.
Ri, however, said the artillery shells supported by the Russian military did not land accurately on the coordinates and fell in random areas.
"This shows North Korean troops were being used as a kind of cannon fodder," Yu said, pointing out such "ineffective" support from Russia likely increased the casualties of North Korean soldiers.
Yu also recounted his first time meeting Ri and another captured soldier, identified by his surname Paek.
The two soldiers were held captive in a building used for prisoners of war, which was originally a prison, and lacking in heating, hot water and ventilation. They were kept in solitary confinement in separate cells located three or four rooms apart and were unaware of each other's presence.
The lawmaker said he was dumbfounded for a moment when Ri asked whether he could go to South Korea and live as he hoped as it was unprecedented for a prisoner of war to come to the South since the 1953 Armistice Agreement with the North.
Yu said he reassured Ri, telling him not to worry and that he will live well in South Korea.
Yu Yong-weon, a lawmaker of South Korea's ruling People Power Party, gives an interview with Yonhap News Agency at the National Assembly in Seoul on March 7, 2025, about his recent meetings with two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukraine. (Yonhap)
Yu also said he visited a drone factory during his trip and witnessed how drone technology and advanced warfare were evolving in Ukraine.
"The drone technology I saw in the field is advancing rapidly, but our military is not keeping pace," he said.
"We should send an expert team to Ukraine to analyze the war even if it's a small number so that our military can learn from them."
julesyi@yna.co.kr
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