Zelensky offers exchange of North Korean soldiers

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he is willing to hand over two captured North Korean soldiers to their home country in exchange for Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russia.

“For those North Korean soldiers who do not wish to return, there may be other options available,” Zelensky said on social media, adding that “those who express their desire to bring peace closer by spreading the truth about this war in Korea will be given that opportunity.”

Ukraine said Saturday that the men were captured on January 9.

When asked last year, President Vladimir Putin did not deny that Russia was using North Korean troops in its war against Ukraine, saying it was a “sovereign decision” by Russia.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said the two men are in kyiv and receiving medical attention.

They speak only Korean and are being interrogated with the help of South Korea’s NIS (National Intelligence Service), the intelligence service said.

Zelensky posted photos on social media on Saturday showing the wounded men.

He also shared a photo of a red Russian military card that lists the birthplace as Turan, in the Republic of Tuva, near Mongolia.

The intelligence service said that when the prisoners were captured, one of the soldiers had a Russian military identification card issued in the name of another person registered in the Tuva Republic. The other did not have documents.

The intelligence service said that during interrogation, one of the soldiers told security personnel that he had been issued the document in Russia in the fall of 2024.

He is alleged to have claimed that at the time, some of North Korea’s combat units had a week-long interoperability training.

“It is noteworthy that the prisoner… emphasized that he was supposed to receive training, not fight in a war against Ukraine,” the SBU statement said.

Zelensky’s office said in a statement Saturday that the Russians “are trying to hide the fact that these are North Korean soldiers by giving them documents claiming they are from Tuva or other territories under Moscow’s control.”

The intelligence service reported that the soldier carrying the ID said he was born in 2005 and had been serving North Korea as a rifleman since 2021.

According to the SBU, the second prisoner gave some of his answers in writing because he had a jaw injury.

The intelligence service said it believed he was born in 1999 and had been serving North Korea as a scout sniper since 2016.

The Geneva Convention states that interrogation of prisoners must be carried out in a language they understand and that prisoners must be protected from public curiosity.

BBC News and other international media have not yet verified Ukraine’s account of the prisoners and their capture.

Ukraine and South Korea reported late last year that North Korea had sent at least 10,000 troops to Russia.

The White House said North Korean forces were suffering massive casualties.

In December, South Korea’s intelligence agency reported that a North Korean soldier believed to be the first to be captured while supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine had died after being captured alive by Ukrainian forces.

Zelensky said Sunday that “there should be no doubt that the Russian military depends on military assistance from North Korea.”