SEOUL -- A former sergeant in the North Korean military says that few of Pyongyang's soldiers have been captured fighting against Ukraine because they're told their families will be executed if they are caught alive.

Lee Seongmin has become key to Kyiv’s efforts to understand the soldiers sent by Kim Jong Un to fight for Russia.

North Korea condemned an upcoming U.S.-South Korea joint military exercise Friday, saying that "counteraction is inevitable" and warning that the allies would "pay dearly."

There is little doubt that the war in Ukraine should not continue on its current course. But peace through surrender would bring at best a temporary end to the fighting—and, at worst, would lead only to more Russian aggression. The only peace that can last is peace through strength.