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The families held hostage in North Korea

Published: 12 Feb. 2025, 00:02

Jang Seok-kwang

The author is the general secretary of the Academy of National Intelligence.

News has surfaced that a North Korean soldier, on the verge of capture by Ukrainian forces, shouted “General Kim Jong-un” before detonating a grenade. A memo found on his body contained explicit orders: “Die before being captured.” While debates continue over the credibility of this intelligence, those familiar with North Korean affairs are hardly surprised. Suicides and self-detonation missions by North Korean operatives have long been part of Pyongyang’s standard operating procedure. In September 1996, during an infiltration attempt in Gangneung, Gangwon, 11 out of 26 armed North Korean commandos took their own lives rather than be captured. North Korean agents and operatives are indoctrinated with the belief that they must become “suicidal heroes who willingly sacrifice their youth and lives.”

An image released on Ukraine's SPRAVDI social media account, October last year, shows soldiers believed to be part of the North Korean army. [SPRAVDI/YONHAP]

Since the late 1970s, when Kim Jong-il declared that a “revolutionary's only way to maintain integrity is self-destruction,” poison capsules have been standard issue for infiltrators. A well-known case is Kim Hyon-hui, the North Korean agent responsible for the 1987 Korean Air bombing, who attempted suicide at Bahrain International Airport.

One of the most painful incidents in North Korean espionage investigations occurred in October 1997. At the National Security Planning Agency — now the National Intelligence Service — female interrogators meticulously searched a 28-year-old North Korean female operative, identified as "A," who had been extradited from Ulsan. The first and foremost task when capturing a North Korean agent is locating poison capsules. When the team discovered three cyanide ampoules, they provided her with fresh undergarments and a tracksuit.

During questioning, A repeatedly stated, “I came for the cause of national reunification and cannot betray General Kim Jong-il.” She refused to eat or drink — except for coffee. When an interrogator asked, “The man in the next room — is he your husband?”, she nodded.

“Do you have children?”

“A five-year-old son.”

“His name?”

She hesitated. Her pupils shook.

She then asked to see her husband. Not knowing whether granting her request would help or harm the investigation, the interrogators politely refused. An older investigator attempted to persuade her: “Living is the only way to help your son. When Korea is unified, you can see him again.”

A handwritten letter apparently carried by a North Korean soldier who died in Russia’s Kursk region dated Dec. 9, 2024, released by the Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces on its Facebook account Dec. 24, 2024. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

But despite what had seemed like a thorough body search, investigators had missed a hiding spot. The 28-year-old mother, trained as a North Korean operative, ultimately carried out her final mission. She died three days later.

The stark contrast with foreign espionage
Suicide under duress is not unique to North Korean agents. On Jan. 9, a Swiss national detained in Iran on espionage charges died in Tehran’s Evin Prison. The diplomatic fallout between Switzerland and Iran remains to be seen, but the case underscores the extreme psychological pressure spies endure.

At the International Spy Museum in Washington a device containing a hidden cyanide capsule is displayed — made in 1974 by the CIA for Soviet diplomat-turned-double agent Aleksandr Ogorodnik.

Ogorodnik, a mid-ranking official at the Soviet Foreign Ministry, was recruited by the CIA in Bogotá, Colombia, in 1973 after growing disillusioned with the oppressive Soviet regime. When he returned to Moscow in 1974, he worried that, if exposed, he would suffer unbearable torture at the hands of the KGB. He requested a suicide device from the CIA, believing that death was preferable to capture.

For three years, Ogorodnik continued feeding sensitive information on Soviet foreign policy to the United States. However, on June 22, 1977, a CIA mole exposed him, and the KGB raided his Moscow apartment.

Arrested and forced to sign a confession, Ogorodnik collapsed, dead before he hit the floor.

While spies worldwide sometimes choose death over capture, there is a fundamental difference between foreign intelligence and North Korean operatives' self-destruction. Western agents primarily act out of personal fear or ideological disillusionment. North Korean operatives, however, are haunted by the fate of their families back home. In North Korea, entire families serve as hostages — and without family members left behind as leverage, one cannot serve as a soldier, intelligence agent, diplomat, laborer abroad or even a foreign student. The North Korean soldiers dying in Ukraine are likely driven by the same coercion.

North Korea offers no training on handling capture
A mother’s fear for her child’s safety is one of the strongest motivators for self-sacrifice. A few days after A’s death, her husband, "B," was interrogated. His weapons had already been confiscated. Investigators deliberately withheld news of his wife’s suicide.

A North Korean soldier wounded and captured by Ukrainian forces are seen in this photo posted on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's Telegram channel on Jan. 11. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

During meals, B was talkative and even shared jokes — his demeanor noticeably brighter than in his initial days of detention. Watching him, unaware of his wife’s fate, brought a mix of emotions to the investigators.

One striking pattern in North Korean interrogations is that agents receive no training on how to handle capture. In contrast, other nations provide operatives with extensive training on how to resist interrogation, endure psychological pressure and navigate legal proceedings. Even during the Cold War, the KGB ensured that its spies knew how to survive if captured.

But not North Korea.

For Pyongyang, there is only one standing order for its operatives: "If captured, you must die."

The recent deaths of North Korean soldiers in Ukraine serve as another grim reminder that Pyongyang’s hostage-state tactics remain unchanged.

Translated using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.

If you or someone you know is feeling emotionally distressed or struggling with thoughts of suicide, LifeLine Korea can be contacted at 1588-9191. The Seoul Foreign Resident Center offers English-language counseling. Contact 02-2229-4900 to arrange a session. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.