Ukraine ready to return North Korean POWs to Kim Jong Un or find 'other ways,' Zelensky says
Ukraine is prepared to send captured North Korean soldiers home if North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is able to negotiate the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) in Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Jan. 12.
Alternatively, Kyiv is willing to explore other options for North Korean soldiers who do not wish to return, he said.
Zelensky's remarks come a day after the president announced on Jan. 11 that Ukrainain forces had captured two North Korean POWs in Russia's Kursk Oblast. The wounded soldiers are in the custody of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and are reportedly receiving medical attention.
"In addition to the first captured soldiers from North Korea, there will undoubtedly be others," Zelensky said via his official Telegram channel on Jan. 12.
"It is only a matter of time before our guys manage to capture more."
Ukraine is prepared to return North Korean personnel in future prisoner exchanges or explore "other ways" of handling those captured soldiers who do not want to go back to North Korea, according to Zelensky.
"Ukraine is ready to hand over his people to Kim Jong Un if he can organize their exchange for our soldiers who are held captive in Russia," he said.
"For those North Korean soldiers who do not want to return, there may be some other ways. In particular, those Koreans who wish to bring peace closer by spreading the truth in Korean about this war will have this opportunity."
Zelensky posted video footage of the SBU's interrogation of the two POWs, mediated by Korean translators. In the video, one of the captured soldiers says he would like to return to North Korea, while the other answers that he wants to live in Ukraine.
Some 12,000 North Korean soldiers have been deployed in Kursk Oblast, where Ukraine launched a surprise cross-border incursion in August 2024. North Korean personnel have suffered high casualties while fighting alongside Russian forces, according to U.S. and Ukrainian officials.
White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on Dec. 27 that some North Korean soldiers have reportedly taken their own lives rather than surrender to Ukrainian troops, out of fear their families will be targeted over their capture.
Zelensky said on Jan. 11 that the capture of the North Korean POWs was a difficult task to carry out, as Russian and North Korean forces go to greath lengths to suppress evidence of Pyongyang's involvement.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
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