the identity of the man has been a source of speculation, and in the 1990s a theory emerged that he was a korean who was captured by the ussr, who was then captured by nazi germany and pressed into service. then later the man was identified as yang kyoungjong, however, no direct proof of this has been found. author martin morgan believes the man is not yang kyoungjong, but instead an ethnic georgian from the 795th georgian battalion, which was composed of georgian osttruppen troops.