Ukrainian Kids Sent to North Korea: Kyiv Counts 19,500 Abductions from Occupied Zones

Ukrainian children sent to North Korea represent a disturbing escalation in Russia's campaign against Kyiv's youngest citizens. Officials in Kyiv have documented more than 19,500 abductions from occupied territories since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

Recent testimony revealed that at least two such children were forcibly transferred to a camp in the isolated Asian nation, sparking international outrage.

The Abductions Unveiled

The scale of the operation is staggering. Ukraine's national database records 19,546 children taken from regions like Donetsk, Kherson, and Crimea. Many are placed in a network of 165 re-education camps scattered across Russia, Belarus, and now North Korea.

There, they undergo 'patriotic re-education,' forbidden from speaking Ukrainian and fed a distorted history that erases their national identity. Officials estimate the true number could reach 300,000, with 1.6 million children still trapped in occupied zones. Russia insists these are evacuations to protect minors from combat, a claim dismissed by Kyiv as groundless.

The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and children's commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova over the abductions. Return efforts have seen only 1,859 children reunited with families, a fraction of those affected.

Journeys to the Hermit Kingdom

In a particularly alarming development, testimony at a US Senate hearing on 3 December 2025 highlighted transfers to North Korea. Kateryna Rashevska, from Ukraine's Regional Center for Human Rights, detailed how '12-year-old Misha from the occupied Donetsk region and 16-year-old Liza from occupied Simferopol were sent to Songdowon camp in North Korea, 9,000 km from home'.

At this elite facility near Wonsan, originally for Communist-bloc youth but now a rite of passage for North Korean elites, the children faced heavy indoctrination. Rashevska added that 'children there were taught to "destroy Japanese militarists" and met Korean veterans who, in 1968, attacked the US Navy ship Pueblo, killing and wounding nine American soldiers'.

Hardly a surprise, given Pyongyang's alliance with Moscow, which includes supplying troops and munitions for the Ukraine war. The children were later returned to occupied Ukraine, but the incident underscores Russia's use of abducted youth for propaganda and diplomacy.

Global Response Mounts

The revelations prompted swift condemnation. On X, user Ostap Yarysh posted: 'Some Ukrainian children abducted by Russia were forcibly transferred to North Korea and placed in military camps, Ukrainian human rights organizations say. This was just announced at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing.'

The UN General Assembly passed a resolution on 3 December, with 91 votes in favour, demanding the immediate return of all deported children and an end to indoctrination. It calls for international monitoring and supports rehabilitation efforts. US officials stressed that returning the children must precede any peace negotiations.

As of 11 December 2025, Kyiv continues to track cases of Ukrainian children sent to North Korea and beyond, pressing for stronger sanctions and diplomatic isolation of Russia to secure their safe return. Advocacy groups warn that without urgent action, an entire generation risks permanent separation from their heritage.

Russia's abduction of over 19,500 Ukrainian children from occupied territories since 2022 has drawn global condemnation, with some sent to North Korea for indoctrination in re-education camps. The International Criminal Court issued warrants, and the UN demands their return, as only a small fraction have been reunited with families amid ongoing efforts for justice.