North Korean troops in Ukraine blowing themselves up with grenades to avoid capture

North Korean troops fighting in Ukraine are blowing themselves up with grenades, rather than be captured, according to Kyiv forces.

The extraordinary revelation came as it was also revealed that the 10,000-plus soldiers sent to help by Kim Jong-Un, have temporarily pulled back from the frontline after suffering heavy losses, inlcuding a colonel.

A Ukrainian special forces commander, who goes by the codename “Puls”, said Kim’s men were likely to be learning lessons from mistakes made during their first, bloody clashes with Ukrainian soldiers.

He said the retreat was probably to tens to their wounded or waiting for reinforcements.

“I think they’ll be back soon,” the commander said, speaking at a secret base in northeastern .

Interviews with several Ukrainian troops by Sky News revealed remarkable details about how the North Koreans have been fighting since they arrived on the battlefield in the Russian region of Kursk last month.

This included a refusal to be taken alive, with claims that North Koreans have been seen blowing themselves up with grenades rather than risk capture.

Puls even claimed a North Korean has been heard shouting “For General Kim Jong Un” before killing himself.

Ukrainian forces said there had also been problems of coordination between North Korean and Russian forces because of the language barrier.

One soldier claimed radio intercepts revealed North Koreans had also accidentally targeted Russian positions.

There was also an apparent initial lack of awareness about the threats from drones and artillery, with North Korean soldiers attacking on foot “like something out of World War Two” in groups of 20, 40 or even 60 men, making themselves easy targets.

But North Korean forces also appeared at times to have been ‘brainwashed’, pushing forward despite being under Ukrainian fire and with comrades being killed and wounded around them.

They also showed a desire to remove evidence of their presence from the warzone, with North Koreans in white helmets spotted trying to recover the wounded and the dead.

But ‘Puls’ said the troops from Pyongyang had better kit than many Russians, including rifles and uniform.

However they also had a lack of heavy armour, with North Koreans only moving on foot and using golf buggies to transport ammunition.

“They were all clean-shaven and perfectly groomed, like models,” said Puls.

“Every single one – no beards, unkempt hair, or bald heads… It was also hard to determine their age. They all looked between 25 and 35, maybe up to 40.”

Pyongyang is believed to have sent more than 10,000 troops to aid Moscow’s war effort in .

In response, the Russian President gifted North Korea’s main zoo more than 70 animals – including a lion and two brown bears.

The Kremlin chief’s environment minister, Alexander Kozlov, recently took the animals to the North Korean capital on board a cargo plane, Kozlov’s office confirmed on its official Telegram channel.

The shipment of animals from Moscow also included two yaks, five cockatoos and dozens of pheasants as well as mandarin ducks, Kozlov’s office said.