Families of captured North Korean troops 'will be executed,' former Pyongyang soldier tells ABC News

A erstwhile sergeant successful the North Korean subject says that fewer of Pyongyang's soldiers person been captured warring against Ukraine due to the fact that they're told their families volition beryllium executed if they are caught alive.

"Most soldiers volition termination themselves earlier they're killed by the enemy, it's the biggest shame to beryllium captured," the erstwhile soldier, Ryu Seong-hyeon, told ABC News.

Ryu defected to South Korea successful 2019, moving crossed a minefield successful the demilitarized portion that separates the 2 Koreas.

MORE: Ukraine claims much North Korean soldiers killed arsenic Zelenskyy offers captive swap

Pyongyang has deployed much than 12,000 soldiers to Russia to combat successful the Ukraine war, according to US estimates, with experts claiming Russian forces person besides utilized North Korean weapons.

An estimated 300 North Korean soldiers have died successful the fighting, and implicit 2,700 person been wounded, Seoul's National Intelligence Service told lawmakers successful a closed briefing past week.

South Korea's spy bureau told journalists Thursday that an chartless fig of further North Korean soldiers person been sent to the frontlines successful Russia's occidental Kursk portion since aboriginal February, aft a adjacent month-long lull successful warring against Ukrainian troops, who launched a astonishment offensive crossed the borderline past August.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced earlier this period that his forces had captured 2 North Korean soldiers, marking the archetypal clip that Ukraine had captured Pyongyang's troops alive.

In a astir 3-minute video released by Ukraine pursuing the seizure of the 2 North Korean troops, 1 of the soldiers says helium wants to stay successful Ukraine erstwhile asked if helium wishes to instrumentality home. The Korean translator asks, "Did you cognize you were warring successful a warfare against Ukraine?" The worker shakes his head.

South Korean quality assessed that the 2 soldiers were with the Reconnaissance General Bureau, a cardinal North Korean subject quality agency.

MORE: At slightest 100 North Korean soldiers killed, 1,000 injured successful warring successful Russia, South Korean quality says

"If the soldiers are captured and archer accusation to the enemy, their families volition beryllium punished, spell to a governmental situation camp, oregon worse, they volition beryllium executed successful beforehand of the people," said different North Korean defector, Pak Yusung.

'They conscionable dice similar a dog'

Pyongyang's soldiers person struggled to accommodate to the modern battlefield, the North Korean defectors suggested, arsenic videos released by the Ukrainian subject look to amusement North Korean soldiers being chased down by onslaught drones.

Ryu and Pak defected agelong earlier the warring that's underway successful Russia, but they said that, successful their experience, astir of the soldiers would not person seen a drone successful their life.

MORE: North Korean killed successful Russia wrote of 'sacred duty' to combat for Kim Jong Un

"Before they spell they don't person immoderate signifier successful however to support against a drone oregon however to combat Ukrainians, that's wherefore they conscionable dice similar a dog," Ryu said. "They don't person the skill, the connection oregon the information."

Pak and Ryu's investigation lines up with accusation released by South Korean intelligence, which said North Korea has intelligibly instructed the soldiers to termination themselves to debar being captured alive.

Seoul's spy bureau besides said it attributes the "massive casualties" of North Korean soldiers to their "lack of knowing of modern warfare," including their "useless" enactment of shooting astatine long-range drones, based connected the agency's investigation of a caller combat video.

Ryu, who was astir 110 lbs. astatine the clip of his defection, said if helium were inactive a North Korean soldier, helium would besides privation to go: "If I went to Ukraine, I could devour food, and I could spot different country." He said determination are besides large fiscal incentives, and the soldiers would person nary thought that their chances of dying were truthful high.

Selling lies

Ryu and Pak said North Korean soldiers were being sold a lie. "From a young property they're told to hatred the American 'wolves', and present they are told they are yet sidesplitting Americans," the defectors said.

Ryu said successful his acquisition with the Korean aerial force, astir 50% of the pilots were lone trained successful theory, and did not person acquisition flying a combatant jet.

Pak, who is simply a researcher astatine the North Korea Institute, said Kim would beryllium receiving captious exertion successful speech for the manpower, successful what should beryllium a profoundly worrying motion for the world, Kim besides gets much existent combat acquisition successful lawsuit of a warfare connected the peninsula.

"If Russia wins the war, it volition empower the dictator alliance," Pak said.

MORE: North Korean soldiers dispatched to Russia

"This is conscionable the start. If the Ukraine warfare keeps going, Kim volition support sending soldiers. Inside North Korea much radical volition commencement knowing and that could beryllium a menace to Kim."

When asked what they could perchance bash astir it erstwhile surviving successful a dictatorship controlled by fear, Pak said, "Think astir it: your sons died connected the battlefield and not for your ain country."

Ryu added, "You cannot nonstop truthful galore radical to the labour camps."

Pak and his squad of 4 North Korean defectors, Voices of North Korean Youth, person been trying to propulsion the planetary assemblage to condemn Russia and North Korea with 1 voice, and we besides called for the International Criminal Court to clasp Kim Jong Un accountable.

ABC News' Karson Yiu contributed to this report.

Families of captured North Korean troops 'will beryllium executed,' erstwhile Pyongyang worker tells ABC News primitively appeared connected abcnews.go.com