Around 300 North Korean soldiers have been killed and 2,700 others injured in Russia’s war in Ukraine, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers in a closed briefing Monday.

The National Intelligence Service said it had participated in the interrogation of several North Korean troops who were captured by Ukrainian forces.

The briefing came days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the capture of two North Korean soldiers during fighting in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces launched a surprise offensive in August.

Zelenskyy said late Sunday he would send captured North Koreans back to their country if North Korean leader Kim Jong Un organizes a swap for Ukrainian soldiers being held in Russia.

The Ukrainian leader said it is “only a matter of time” before Ukraine captures more North Korean soldiers, and that Russia’s military “is dependent on military assistance from North Korea.”

Drone attacks

Ukraine’s military said Monday it destroyed 78 of the 110 drones that Russian forces launched in overnight attacks targeting regions across the country.

The intercepts took place over the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia and Zhytomyr regions, the Ukrainian air force said.

Mykolaiv Governor Vitaliy Kim said on Telegram that falling drone fragments damaged several houses, but did not hurt anyone. Russian shelling in his region injured one person, Kim said Monday.

In Sumy, officials said Russian attacks caused a fire at a residential building and injured one person.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Monday it destroyed six Ukrainian drones over the Voronezh region, as well as one drone over Belgorod and another drone over Bryansk.

The ministry also said Monday that a Ukrainian drone attack Saturday targeted the TurkStream gas pipeline that is used to send Russian gas to Turkey and Europe.

Russian air defenses shot down all of the drones involved in the attack, and there were no casualties, the ministry said.

Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters
…

PARIS — A Frenchman held in Iran since October 2022 on Monday revealed his identity in an audio message broadcast on a French radio station, saying he was becoming increasingly exhausted over his ordeal.

Olivier Grondeau, 34, had previously only been identified by his first name and French authorities had not released details of his case. 

In an audio message aired on France Inter on Monday, Grondeau fully identified himself and warned that he and the other two French detainees held in Iran were “exhausted.”

The other two French nationals currently held in Iran are teacher Cecile Kohler and her partner, Jacques Paris, who were detained in May 2022. They are accused of seeking to stir up labor protests, accusations their families have vehemently denied.

“You, who have the power to influence this matter, hear this truth,” he said in the audio message, apparently addressing the French authorities.

“Cecile’s strength, Jacques’ strength, Olivier’s strength — it is all running out,” he said. “Your responsibility is called upon to ensure the survival of three human beings,” he said.

Grondeau was arrested in Shiraz, in southern Iran, in October 2022, and sentenced to five years in prison for “conspiracy against the Islamic republic,” his mother Therese Grondeau told France Inter.

His family rejects the charges, describing Grondeau as a passionate fan of Persian poetry who was traveling to Iran on a tourist visa as part of a world tour.

On Friday, France summoned the Iranian ambassador to protest Tehran’s holding of the trio, describing them as “state hostages.”

Their “situation is intolerable, with undignified detention conditions that, for some, constitute torture under international law,” the French foreign ministry said.

The tensions have come after an Italian journalist, Cecilia Sala, arrested and jailed in Iran since December, was freed and returned to Rome earlier this month.

Her swift release — in contrast to the prolonged detention of the French nationals —  was the result of “intense work through diplomatic and intelligence channels” by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government, her office said. 

Foreign ministries whose nationals have been held by Iran are known to sometimes advise families to keep a low profile and not announce the arrest of their loved ones publicly, in the hope the situation can be resolved behind the scenes.               
…

Niamey, Niger — An Austrian woman has been kidnapped by gunmen in Niger’s Agadez city, residents and the Austrian Foreign Ministry said Sunday. It is the first time a European citizen is known to have been kidnapped in the conflict-hit West African nation since a military junta took power in 2023.

The ministry said the Austrian Embassy in Algeria, which is also responsible for Niger, had been informed of the kidnapping of an Austrian woman in Agadez and was in contact with regional authorities on the ground.

Residents and local media identified the victim as Eva Gretzmacher and reported she is an aid worker who has lived in Agadez — hundreds of kilometers away from the capital city of Niamey — for more than 20 years.

“(She) is well known for her social commitment (and) created a skills center in 2010 that initiated various projects, notably in the fields of education, women’s empowerment, ecology, culture and art,” the online newspaper Air Info Agadez reported.

Gretzmacher also supported education programs through her development work and provided assistance to local nongovernment organizations in various sectors, local media said.

No group claimed responsibility for her abduction and authorities in Niger did not immediately comment on the incident.

Niger has for many years battled a jihadi insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, a security crisis that analysts say has worsened since the military toppled the country’s government in July 2023. Despite their promise to restore peace in hot spots, the junta’s capacity to improve Niger’s security has increasingly been questioned amid increasing attacks.

Niger was seen as one of the last democratic countries in Africa’s Sahel region that Western nations could partner with to beat back the jihadi insurgency in the vast expanse below the Sahara Desert. The country has severed decadeslong military ties with the West and turned to Russia as a new security partner.
…

London — Hundreds of Londoners headed down to the Underground on Sunday afternoon, stripped down to their underwear and travelled around a bit, trying to look as though nothing unusual was going on.

As if.

This was the Official No Trousers Tube Ride, an annual event with no point other than injecting a little levity into the bleak midwinter. No deep meaning, no bigger motive. The only goal was to be silly, if but for one afternoon.

“There’s so much bad, so much not fun going on,” said ringleader Dave Selkirk, a 40-year-old personal trainer. “It’s nice to do something just for the sake of it.”

After gathering at the entrance to Chinatown, dozens of clothing anarchists trooped through the icy streets to the Piccadilly Circus Underground station in central London where they boarded their first train. The only hiccup was that the cars were so crowded some people couldn’t shed their trousers.

Selfies were taken. Grins were exchanged. The tourists looked puzzled.

The first stunt in this vein was held in New York in 2002, the brainchild of local comedian Charlie Todd. His idea was this: Wouldn’t it be funny if someone walked onto a subway train in the middle of winter wearing a hat, gloves, scarf — everything but pants? Or trousers as they’re known in London, pants being synonymous with underpants in Britain.

“It would be unusual in New York, although you can see anything on our subway system, but what would really be funny is if at the next stop, a couple of minutes later, when the doors open and additional persons got on, not wearing trousers as well,” Todd told the BBC. “And they act like they don’t know each other, and they act like … it’s no big deal and they just forgot their trousers.”

The idea took off, and no pants days have been held all over: in Berlin, Prague, Jerusalem, Warsaw and Washington, D.C., among other cities.

London hosted its first big reveal in 2009.

“You know, it’s meant to be a bit of harmless fun,” Todd said. “Certainly, we are living in a climate where, you know, people like to have culture war fights. My rule in New York was always the goal of this event is to amuse other people, to give people a laugh. It’s not to be provocative, it’s not to irritate someone. So hopefully the spirit of that continues.”

Basil Long, a lawyer, showed up at the meeting point in a down coat and hat on a freezing winter afternoon. But after his journey underground in the warm tunnels of the Tube, he had been transformed, wearing only a white shirt with bold rainbow stripes, pink underwear and Underground-themed socks.

“I just saw it online and I just thought, why not? It’s always a question, isn’t it?” he said. “When someone is asked why they climbed Everest, they were just like, why not?”

But Miriam Correa had a purpose. The 43-year-old chef wanted to come because she had seen pictures of previous no trouser rides that featured lots of thin, scantily clad women.

“I am a real woman,” she said, adding that there was no reason to be ashamed of her shape. “All bodies are perfect.”
…

Kyiv, Ukraine — Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday Kyiv is ready to hand over North Korean soldiers to their leader Kim Jong Un if he can facilitate their exchange for Ukrainians held captive in Russia.

“In addition to the first captured soldiers from North Korea, there will undoubtedly be more. It’s only a matter of time before our troops manage to capture others,” Zelenskyy said on the social media platform X.

Zelenskyy said Saturday that Ukraine had captured two North Koreans in Russia’s Kursk region, the first time Ukraine has announced the capture of North Korean soldiers alive since their entry into the nearly three-year-old war last fall.

Ukrainian and Western assessments say that some 11,000 troops from Russia’s ally North Korea have been deployed in the Kursk region to support Moscow’s forces. Russia has neither confirmed nor denied their presence.

Zelenskyy has said Russian and North Korean forces had suffered heavy losses.

“Ukraine is ready to hand over Kim Jong Un’s soldiers to him if he can organize their exchange for our warriors who are being held captive in Russia,” Zelenskyy said.

He posted a short video showing the interrogation of two men who are presented as North Korean soldiers. One of them is lying on a bed with bandaged hands, the other is sitting with a bandage on his jaw.

One of the men said through an interpreter that he did not know he was fighting against Ukraine and had been told he was on a training exercise.

He said he hid in a shelter during the offensive and was found a couple of days later. He said that if he was ordered to return to North Korea, he would, but that he was ready to stay in Ukraine if given the chance.

Reuters could not verify the video.

“One of them (soldiers) expressed a desire to stay in Ukraine, the other to return to Korea,” Zelenskyy said in a televised statement.

Zelenskyy said that for North Korean soldiers who did not wish to return home, there may be other options available and “those who express a desire to bring peace closer by spreading the truth about this war in the Korean (language) will be given that opportunity.”

Zelenskyy provided no specific details. 
…

BUCHAREST — Tens of thousands protested in Romania’s capital on Sunday against a top court’s decision last month to annul the presidential election after an outsider candidate unexpectedly emerged as the frontrunner.

Many of the demonstrators in Bucharest honked horns and waved Romania’s blue, yellow, and red flags, while others brandished placards bearing slogans such as “Democracy is not optional” and “We want free elections.” Many also demanded the resumption of the presidential race from the second round.

The protest comes a month after the Constitutional Court made the unprecedented move to annul the election just two days before a Dec. 8 runoff. The far-right populist Calin Georgescu shocked many when he won the first round on Nov. 24, after which allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference emerged.

George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, said at the protest on Sunday, “We are protesting against the coup d’état that took place on Dec. 6.

“We are sorry to discover so late that we were living in a lie and that we were led by people who claimed to be democrats, but are not at all,” Simion, whose party organized the protest on Sunday, told reporters. “We demand a return to democracy through the resumption of elections, starting with the second round.”

The canceled presidential race last month plunged the European Union and NATO member country into turmoil and followed other controversies including a recount of first-round votes.

New dates have been set to rerun the vote with the first round scheduled for May 4. If no candidate obtains more than 50% of the ballot, a runoff would be held two weeks later on May 18. It is not yet clear whether Georgescu will be able to participate in the new election.

Georgescu has since challenged the court’s decision at a local appeals court and lodged a complaint at the European Court of Human Rights.

The Constitutional Court’s published decision to annul the elections cited the illegal use of digital technologies including artificial intelligence, as well as the use of “undeclared sources” of funding. Georgescu had declared zero campaign spending.

Many observers attributed Georgescu’s success to his TikTok account, which now has 7.2 million likes and 646,000 followers. Some experts suspected Georgescu’s online following was artificially inflated while Romania’s top security body alleged he was given preferential treatment by TikTok over other candidates.

On Friday, another protest in Bucharest was attended by thousands who also expressed anger over the canceled presidential race.
…

Belgrade, Serbia — Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters in Belgrade on Sunday switched on the lights on their mobile phones and stood in silence for 15 minutes to commemorate victims of a railway station roof collapse for which they blame authorities. 

The protest was organized and led by students from Belgrade state university who are demanding that those responsible for the roof collapse are brought to justice. 

They blame the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) of President Aleksandar Vucic for corruption and nepotism, which he and the party deny. 

Students at state universities in Belgrade, Kragujevac and Nis have been blockading classes for weeks to demand the release of all documents relevant to the renovation of the station, as well as criminal prosecution of officials responsible for the disaster. 

Every day they block traffic in front of their faculties for 15 minutes to commemorate the 15 victims. 

The concrete awning of the recently renovated roof of Novi Sad station caved in on Nov. 1, killing 14 and injuring three. One of the injured died later. 

Opposition leaders and the public have taken to the streets repeatedly, blaming the accident on shoddy construction resulting from government corruption and nepotism. 

The ruling coalition denies those charges, and Vucic has said those responsible must be held to account. 

“We have been unhappy for years. We came here to express our revolt (with authorities), and to support students,” said Tamara Kovacevic, one of the protesters.
…

ZAGREB, CROATIA — Croatia’s incumbent President Zoran Milanovic was the overwhelming favorite to win reelection as he faced a candidate from the ruling conservative party in a runoff presidential vote on Sunday.

The left-leaning Milanovic comfortably won the first round of voting on December 29, leaving his main challenger, Dragan Primorac, a forensic scientist who had unsuccessfully run for presidency previously, and six other candidates far behind.

The runoff between the top two contenders was necessary because Milanovic fell short of securing 50% of the vote by just 5,000 votes, while Primorac trailed far behind with 19%.

The election comes as the European Union and NATO member country of 3.8 million people struggles with biting inflation, corruption scandals and a labor shortage.

Milanovic, 58, is an outspoken critic of Western military support for Ukraine in its war against Russia. He is the most popular politician in Croatia and is sometimes compared to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump for his combative style of communication with political opponents.

Milanovic served as prime minister in the past with a mixed record. He has been a fierce critic of current Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and the pair have long sparred with each other.

Milanovic regularly accuses Plenkovic and his conservative Croatian Democratic Union party of systemic corruption, calling the premier a “serious threat to Croatia’s democracy.”

Plenkovic has sought to portray Sunday’s vote as one about Croatia’s future in the EU and NATO. He has labelled Milanovic “pro-Russian” and a threat to Croatia’s international standing.

Primorac echoed this position as he cast his ballot on Sunday. He said the presidential vote was “very important” and “about the future of Croatia, … about the future of our homeland, our citizens, and, really, the direction that it would go from here.”

Political analyst Viseslav Raos said the increasingly outspoken Milanovic has no motive to “try to please someone or try to control himself.”

“If there was no cooperation with the prime minister for the first five years (of his presidency), why would it be now?” he added.

Though the presidency is largely ceremonial in Croatia, an elected president holds political authority and acts as the supreme military commander.

Despite limited powers, many believe the presidential position is key for the political balance of power in a country mainly governed by the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) since gaining independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.

During a TV debate ahead of the Sunday vote, Milanovic and Primorac exchanged barbs while exposing deep political differences.

Primorac, 59, entered politics in the early 2000s, when he was science and education minister in the HDZ-led government. He unsuccessfully ran for the presidency in 2009, and after that mainly focused on his academic career including lecturing at universities in the United States, China and in Croatia.

Milanovic denied he is pro-Russian but last year blocked the dispatch of five Croatian officers to NATO’s mission in Germany called Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine. He also pledged he would never approve sending Croatian soldiers as part of any NATO mission to Ukraine. Plenkovic and his government say there is no such proposal.

Milanovic accused Primorac of associating with “mass murderers,” referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s associates and the war in Gaza. He also claimed that Plenkovic was Primorac’s sponsor and dubbed Primorac “the last communist” — a reference to his membership of the former ruling Communist Party of Yugoslavia in the late 1980s.

Primorac meanwhile claimed that Milanovic’s only political allies were Bosnian Serb separatist leader Milorad Dodik, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Hungary’s populist leader Viktor Orban. 
…

KYIV — Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on allies on Sunday to honor all promises to supply Ukraine with weapons, including those to counter Russian air attacks.

Zelenskyy said that over the past week Russian forces had launched hundreds of strikes on Ukraine and nearly 700 aerial bombs and over 600 attack drones were used.

Ukrainian air defenses downed 60 out of 94 drones launched by Russia overnight, the air force said on Sunday. It said that 34 drones were “lost,” in reference to Ukraine’s use of electronic warfare to redirect Russian drones.

“Every week, the Russian war continues only because the Russian army retains its ability to terrorize Ukraine and exploit its superiority in the sky,” Zelenskyy said on the Telegram messaging app.

He called on Ukraine’s allies to fulfill agreements already made.

“The decisions made at the NATO summit in Washington, as well as those adopted during the Ramstein meetings regarding air defenses for Ukraine, have still not been fully implemented,” Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine’s leader this week said he had discussed with partners and the United States the possibility of granting Ukraine licenses to produce air defense systems and missiles.

 
…

MAMOUDZOU, FRANCE — Residents of the French territory of Mayotte braced Saturday for a storm expected to bring strong winds and heavy rain less than a month after the Indian Ocean archipelago was devastated by a deadly cyclone. 

Mayotte was placed on a red weather alert from 1900 GMT on Saturday in anticipation of the passage of Cyclone Dikeledi to the south of the territory. 

Authorities called for “extreme vigilance” following the devastation wrought by Cyclone Chido in mid-December.  

Meteo-France predicted “significant rain and windy conditions,” saying that very heavy rain could cause flooding. 

Residents were advised to seek shelter and stock up on food and water. 

The storm hit the northeastern coast of Madagascar on Saturday evening around 1630 GMT and was heading straight for the tourist island of Nosy Be.  

It is expected to pass to the south of Mayotte on Sunday morning, according to forecasts. 

“Nothing is being left to chance,” Manuel Valls, France’s new overseas territories minister, told AFP, referring to forecasts of “heavy and continuous rain” and winds of up to 110 kilometers per hour (kph). 

As it hit Madagascar, average winds were estimated at 130 kilometers per hour, with gusts up to 180 kph. 

The most devastating cyclone to hit France’s poorest department in 90 years caused colossal damage, killing at least 39 people and injuring more than 5,600 in December. 

“We need to be seriously prepared for the possibility of a close passage of the cyclone,” the Mayotte prefecture said on social media platform X. 

Prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville, the top Paris-appointed official on the territory, said Mayotte would be placed on a red weather alert from 1900 GMT on Saturday.  

“I have decided to bring forward this red alert to 10 p.m. to allow everyone to take shelter, to confine themselves, to take care of the people close to you, your children, your families,” Bieuville said on television. 

Messages in French and two regional languages were broadcast on radio and television to alert the population. 

Bieuville told reporters Saturday that the cyclone was forecast to pass within 110 kilometers (70 miles) of the archipelago’s southern coast.  

“We even have systems telling us 75 kilometers. So, we have something that is going to hit Mayotte very closely”, he said. 

The storm intensified from a tropical storm to a tropical cyclone Saturday morning, but forecasters are not expecting it to further intensify. 

More than 4,000 personnel have been mobilized in Mayotte, including members of police and the army, said the interior ministry. 

The prefect has requested that mayors reopen accommodation centers such as schools and gymnasiums that sheltered around 15,000 people in December. 

He also ordered firefighters and other forces to be deployed to “extremely fragile” shantytowns in Mamoudzou and elsewhere. 

Potential mudslides were “a major risk”, the prefect said. 

“Chido was a dry cyclone, with very little rain,” he added.  

“This tropical storm is a wet event; we are going to have a lot of rain.”  

Mayotte’s population stands officially at 320,000, but there are an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 more undocumented inhabitants living in shanty towns that were destroyed by the cyclone in December. 
…

KYIV, UKRAINE — For weeks, Ukrainian troops braced for an unfamiliar enemy: North Korean soldiers sent to bolster Moscow’s forces after Ukraine launched a lightning-fast incursion and seized territory in Russia’s Kursk region over the summer.

Their arrival marked a new and alarming phase in the war. And while initially inexperienced on the battlefield, North Korean troops have adapted quickly — a development that could have far-reaching consequences as they gain combat knowledge in the war against Ukraine.

Unlike the Russian troops Ukraine has been battling for nearly three years, Kyiv’s forces were uncertain about what to expect from this new adversary, drawn into the war after Moscow and Pyongyang signed an agreement pledging military assistance using “all means” if either were attacked.

One Ukrainian soldier who has witnessed North Koreans in battle described them as disciplined and highly methodical, saying they were more professional than their Russian counterparts. The soldier spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the sensitive military issue.

However, other soldiers, including Ukrainian special forces, have shared battlefield drone footage on the Telegram messaging app mocking their tactics as outdated.

Nevertheless, there is consensus among Ukrainian soldiers, military intelligence and others monitoring developments on the ground: While Pyongyang’s troops lacked battlefield experience when they arrived, that has been changing quickly.

With 1.2 million troops, North Korea’s military ranks among the largest standing armies globally. But its post-Korean War foreign engagements have been limited, leaving them inexperienced with modern warfare technologies like drones.

“For the first time in decades, the North Korean army is gaining real military experience,” said Andrii Yusov, spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence agency. “This is a global challenge — not just for Ukraine and Europe, but for the entire world.”

Identifying the presence of North Korean troops

Despite Ukrainian, U.S. and South Korean assertions that Pyongyang has sent 10,000-12,000 troops to fight alongside Russia in the Kursk border region, Moscow has never publicly acknowledged the North Korean forces.

While reports of their presence first emerged in October, Ukrainian troops only confirmed engagement on the ground in December.

Analysts say that without the influx of North Korean troops, Russia would have struggled to pursue its strategy of overwhelming Ukraine by throwing large numbers of soldiers into the battle for Kursk.

While Moscow’s counterattack in Kursk has inflicted thousands of Ukrainian casualties, Kyiv’s overstretched forces have managed to hold on to about half of the 984 square kilometers seized in August, though the situation remains dynamic. Besides the symbolic impact of Ukraine’s success capturing Russian territory, control of Kursk could also be a bargaining chip in any ceasefire negotiations.

According to Ukraine’s intelligence agency, the North Korean soldiers are operating alongside Russian units, with the latter providing reconnaissance and electronic warfare support.

The North Koreans wear Russian military uniforms with fake military IDs in their pockets, according to a report by a Ukrainian military unit that has observed them on the battlefield, and they could easily be mistaken for Russian soldiers.

The subterfuge means Moscow and “its representatives at the U.N. can deny the facts,” said Yusov, the Ukrainian military intelligence spokesperson.

Among the things proving their presence is that they have been heard speaking Korean with North Korean accents in intercepted communications, Yusov said.

He said the North Korean troops are using their own weapons and equipment and have learned to cope with the improvised explosives-laden drones that have become emblematic of the war, first-hand experience even some NATO-member countries don’t have.

“This is a new level of threat,” Yusov said. “Regional countries must prepare for what this means in the future.”

North Koreans gain invaluable experience on the battlefield

The North Koreans’ early missteps were largely caused by inexperience, such as moving in large groups in open terrain, making them easy targets for drones and artillery strikes.

According to the Ukrainian military unit’s report, the North Korean soldiers were spotted easily as they moved in single-file columns through forest in groups of three, with 3 to 5 meters between soldiers. On open terrain, they moved in dispersed formations of five to 15 soldiers, making them vulnerable and leading to heavy losses.

However, during night operations, their movements were swift and units oriented themselves using red flashlights along routes, the report said.

“They’re fast, physically well-prepared, and act strictly according to their algorithms,” said the Ukrainian soldier who spoke to the AP. “If you drill the same routines for years, to the point where they can be executed blindfolded, it will yield results.”

Despite their discipline, their lack of combat experience hindered their effectiveness. The Ukrainian military reported that North Korean troops often sustained heavy losses, with many killed by drones.

On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy put the number of killed or wounded North Koreans at 4,000, though U.S. estimates are lower, at around 1,200.

“Much of their military doctrine and training is based on strategies and experiences from over half a century ago,” said Glib Voloskyi, a military analyst with the Ukrainian think tank CBA Initiatives Center.

The large-group formations date to when artillery accuracy was significantly lower, and observing troop movements much more difficult. Today, reconnaissance and so-called first-person view drones, or FPVs, that transmit video allowing soldiers to strike targets in real time have made the battlefield highly transparent, and anyone stepping onto it without cover, let alone moving in groups, is immediately spotted.

“But it is only a matter of time before they acquire the necessary skills to improve their combat effectiveness, which, combined with their discipline and training, could make them a significant military force,” Voloskyi said.

No surrender policy means few North Korean POWs

After weeks of fighting, Ukrainian soldiers have taken only two prisoners of war. In announcing the capture Saturday, Zelenskyy said taking them alive “was not easy” because of efforts to conceal the North Koreans’ presence and avoid their interrogation by Ukraine.

North Korean soldiers avoid surrendering at all costs, Zelenskyy said.

This may stem from North Korean internal propaganda that portrays capture as the ultimate disgrace, analysts said.

“To be captured alive is considered a betrayal of the country, the leader and everything they stand for,” said Seongmin Lee of the New York-based Human Rights Foundation, who defected from North Korea in 2009.

This belief is instilled from a young age and reinforced throughout military training, he said. “Because of the disgrace associated with the capitulation, heroic soldiers are supposed to save the last of their bullets to kill themselves,” Lee said.

Lee said he shared photos of dead North Korean soldiers with contacts back home. “Most North Koreans don’t even know what is going on,” he said.

Dorothy Camille Shea, the deputy U.S. ambassador to the U.N., warned of the dangers posed by the rapidly improving battlefield skills the North Korean troops are gaining fighting in Kursk.

North Korea “is significantly benefiting from receiving Russian military equipment, technology and experience, rendering it more capable of waging war against its neighbors,” Shea told the 15-member U.N. Security Council on Wednesday.

As an added potential benefit, she said, North Korea “will likely be eager to leverage these improvements to promote weapons sales and military training contracts globally.”
…

RIESA, GERMANY — The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party set out a radical program Saturday at a party congress ahead of next month’s snap general election as thousands of protesters took to the streets to voice their opposition to the party. 

Demonstrators shouting “No to Nazis” outside the venue in the eastern town of Riesa succeeded in delaying the start of the congress by around two hours. 

Once it got underway just after 12 p.m. local time (1100 GMT) the party’s 600-odd delegates approved co-leader Alice Weidel as candidate for chancellor by acclamation ahead of the general election on February 23. 

In a fiery speech to the hall afterward, Weidel condemned the protestors outside as “a left-wing mob” and “red-painted Nazis” before going on to present her “plan for the future” for Germany. 

She said the first 100 days of a government containing the AfD would see the “total closing of Germany’s borders and the turning back anyone traveling without documents” as well as “large-scale repatriations.” 

“I say to you quite honestly, if this must be called remigration, then let it be called remigration,” she said. 

Turning to energy policy, Weidel advocated a return to nuclear energy and more coal power stations, as well as relaunching the Nord Stream pipelines for Russian gas. 

In keeping with the AfD’s denial of climate science, Weidel also attacked efforts to promote renewable energy. 

She branded wind turbines “windmills of shame” and promised to tear them all down. 

The AfD is currently in second place in opinion polls, averaging 20%, although one survey Saturday eagerly seized on by the party gave them 22%. 

The conservative CDU/CSU is leading at 31% while Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats are fighting it out for third place with their Green coalition partners on 15% and 14% respectively. 

Weidel in her speech bashed the CDU/CSU, branding them a “party of cheats” and saying her goal was to overtake them. 

The congress caps an eventful week for Weidel, who on Thursday was hosted by Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a key Donald Trump ally, for a wide-ranging livestream on his X social media platform. 

Musk also boosted the livestream of Saturday’s congress by sharing it on his own X account, helping it gain a worldwide audience of more than 4 million as of the early evening. 

The AfD has also been buoyed by events in Austria in recent days, where the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) has been invited to try to form a government with the conservative People’s Party (OeVP). 

So far all of Germany’s other parties, including the CSU/CDU, have ruled out working with the AfD. 

Outside the congress venue, protestors braved the cold to shout slogans such as “No to Nazis.” 

Police said they numbered at least 8,000 while organizers put the number at more than 12,000. 

Among them was Julia, who declined to give her last name but said she wanted to turn out to oppose a party that represented “exclusion, discrimination and hatred.” 

“We want to show very clearly that we are the majority, that we are in favor of open borders and solidarity in society,” she told AFP. 

Dorothea, part of the Omas Gegen Rechts (“Grannies Against The Far-Right”) protest movement, called the AfD a “merciless downfall for Germany.” 

While doubting she and her fellow protestors could reach “those in the AfD bubble,” she hoped they could get through to “nonvoters and the undecided.” 

Earlier Saturday, demonstrators tried to breach police cordons with protest organizers accusing the police of using violence and pepper spray. 

Police said that six officers had suffered minor injuries. 

The far-left Die Linke party complained that one of its regional members of Parliament who was observing the protests was knocked unconscious by a blow to the face from police. 

The head of the region’s police force apologized for the incident and said it was being investigated. 

Observers are expecting heated debates over some points of AfD’s program as the party congress continues Sunday. 

Those include party leadership plans to replace its Junge Alternative (“Young Alternative”) youth wing, which has been classified as an extremist group by intelligence services.  
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PARIS — France starts 2025 with a further drawdown of its military presence in its former African colonies, and fresh tensions ignited this week with controversial remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Chad, Senegal and now Ivory Coast have followed Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso in asking France to withdraw its troops from their soil. The reasons vary — from growing anti-French sentiment to calls for greater sovereignty and strengthening ties with other foreign powers. But the impact is the same.

“There is a clear collapse of French policy in Africa,” said Thierry Vircoulon, a researcher at the French Institute for International Relations’ Africa Center. “The withdrawal of the French troops and basically the end of the French military presence in Africa is a symbol of that collapse.”

French-African relations haven’t improved in recent days. On Monday, Macron suggested some Sahel countries had forgotten to thank French troops for spearheading a decadelong fight against Islamist insurgencies.

That drew sharp criticism from leaders in Chad and Senegal. French authorities say Macron’s remarks were taken out of context.

Jean-Pierre Maulny, deputy director of the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs think tank, said he believes France needs to be less focused on the immediate fallout and instead concentrate on longer-term ties with francophone African countries.

France should think more about development and sharing the future of Africa’s security, he said, and less about adopting a big brother attitude.

Macron’s government announced plans last year to reduce its military presence on the continent — where it also has troops in Gabon and Djibouti — and make it more responsive to countries’ demands.

France has also expanded ties beyond francophone Africa. Its two biggest trading partners, for example, are Nigeria and South Africa.

But analyst Vircoulon predicts France’s long-term influence in Africa will remain limited, at best.

“There’s very little that the French government can do, and it’s playing in favor of Russia and other countries that are not Western,” he said.

He said he believes France’s strategic priorities will shift to potential conflicts in Europe.
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