Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that he is willing to hand over captured North Korean soldiers to Pyongyang in exchange for the return of Ukrainian prisoners held by Russia.
Zelenskiy’s offer came a day after Ukraine announced it had captured two North Korean soldiers who were wounded in fighting with Kiev forces in Russia’s Kursk region. However, Kiev did not provide any proof of their nationality.
On Sunday, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service backed Ukraine’s explanation, telling AFP news agency it had “confirmed” that Ukrainian forces had captured two North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region on January 9.
“Ukraine is ready to hand over Kim Jong Un’s soldiers to him if we can arrange an exchange with our fighters held captive in Russia,” Zelenskyy wrote to X.
He added that the number of North Korean soldiers captured in Kiev “will definitely be many more.”
“There may be other options for North Korean soldiers who do not want to return,” Zelenskiy said.
South Korean government confirms that Ukraine has detained two North Korean soldiers
North Koreans who wish to “bring peace closer by spreading the truth about this war in Korean” will be given the opportunity to do so.
Neither Moscow nor North Korea acknowledge that North Korea is being sent to fight Ukraine.
Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the two countries have strived to strengthen military cooperation.
Zelenskiy said Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot do without military support from North Korea.”
Ukraine’s president posted a video of the interrogation of two North Korean prisoners, one of them lying on a bunk bed and the other sitting up in bed with a bandage on his chin.
One man is heard talking to Ukrainian officials through an interpreter, in translated comments that he didn’t know he would be fighting in a war with Ukraine and that his commanders told him it was “just a training exercise.” I was told that,” he said.
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