Clip shows cargo loaded at Shenyang airport, not 'repatriation of North Koreans killed in Ukraine'

"In Shenyang, a netizen saw a large number of soldiers who had served in Ukraine being transported back to their hometown in North Korea," read part of the simplified Chinese caption of a video shared on X on December 7, 2024.

The caption went on to suggest North Korean leader Kim Jong Un "must have been very pleased to be paid in US dollars" for his soldiers' sacrifice.

The footage, which was viewed over a million times, shows airport workers loading several objects wrapped in white cloth onto an aircraft.

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Screenshot of the false X post, captured on January 3, 2025

The same video was also shared hundreds of times alongside similar claims elsewhere on X here, here and here, as well as on YouTube here and here.

It was shared after the United States and South Korea accused Pyongyang of sending more than 10,000 soldiers to reinforce Russia's military in its war with Ukraine. The two US foes have strengthened their military ties since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on December 23, 2024 that more than 3,000 North Korean soldiers had been killed or wounded (archived link). South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, meanwhile, put the total at more than 1,000 and said Pyongyang is "preparing for the rotation or additional deployment of soldiers" to aid Russia's war effort.

The video circulating online, however, was originally shared with a caption that stated it showed "lamb" being transported.

Shenzhen Airlines cargo

A keyword search on Chinese social media platforms led to the same footage shared in a Douyin post from December 3, 2024, where it was captioned: "It's lamb, please stop guessing."

Below is a screenshot comparison of the clip used in the false posts (left) and the video posted on Douyin (right):

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Screenshot comparison of the clip used in the false posts (left) and the Douyin (right)

The user who posted the clip told AFP she filmed the video and provided a screenshot of the video's metadata, which states it was taken at 6:11 am on December 2, 2024 at terminal three of Shenyang Taoxian International Airport.

The user also shared a similar video with AFP, showing the plane was a Shenzhen Airlines jet.

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Screenshot of a similar video provided by the Douyin user, showing the plane is a Shenzhen Airlines jet

The airline does not fly to North Korea (archived link).

"It is impossible for the cargo to be human remains, I can guarantee that," Zhang Zhibin, a manager at Shenzhen Airlines' Shenzhen Cargo Department, told AFP in a phone call on December 13, 2024 (archived link).

"Corpses can't be transported that easily."

A separate keyword search led to a December 2018 article published by a Chinese civil aviation media outlet on WeChat that explained that white cloth is wrapped around lamb flown out of Shenyang to ensure it does not spoil (archived link).

Below is a screenshot comparison between the objects in the falsely shared video (left) and the lamb wrapped in white cloth as pictured in the WeChat article (right):

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Screenshot comparison between the objects in the falsely shared video (left) and the lamb wrapped in white cloth as pictured in the WeChat article (right)

AFP has debunked other false claims about foreign soldiers killed in Ukraine here, here and here.