Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday, the 12th of January, that Kyiv was ready to hand over captured North Korean soldiers to its leader Kim Jong Un if he would make it easier to exchange them for Ukrainians held captive in Russia, reports Reuters.
“In addition to the first North Korean soldiers captured, there will undoubtedly be others. It is only a matter of time before our soldiers succeed in capturing more,” Zelenskyy said on X.
Zelensky announced on Saturday that Ukraine had captured two North Koreans in the Kursk region.
Ukrainian and Western estimates suggest that some 11 000 soldiers from Russia’s ally North Korea have been deployed in the Kursk region to support Russian forces in the war. Russia has neither confirmed nor denied their presence.
Zelenskyy said that Russian and North Korean forces had suffered heavy losses.
“Ukraine is ready to hand over Kim Jong Un’s soldiers if he can arrange their exchange for our soldiers who are in captivity in Russia,” Zelenskyy said.
He posted a short video showing the interrogation of two men presented as North Korean soldiers. One of them was seen lying on a bed with his hands bandaged, the other was sitting with a bandage on his jaw.
In addition to the first captured soldiers from North Korea, there will undoubtedly be more. It’s only a matter of time before our troops manage to capture others. There should be no doubt left in the world that the Russian army is dependent on military assistance from North… pic.twitter.com/4RyCfUoHoC
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 12, 2025
One of the men said with the help of an interpreter that he did not know he was fighting against Ukraine and that he had been told he was taking part in training.
He said that he had hidden in a shelter during the offensive and was found a few days later. He said that if he was ordered to return to North Korea he would do so, but that he was prepared to stay in Ukraine if given the chance.
“One of them (the soldiers) expressed his wish to stay in Ukraine and the other to return to North Korea.” Zelenskyy said in a televised interview.
Zelenskyy said that North Korean soldiers who do not want to return home may have other options and “those who express their desire to promote peace by spreading the truth about this war in Korean will be given such an opportunity.”
Zelenskyy did not provide further details.
Some 300 North Korean soldiers stationed in Russia have been killed and another 2 700 wounded in battles with Ukrainian forces, with the rising number of casualties attributed to a lack of understanding of modern warfare and “the way Russia used the North Korean army”, a South Korean lawmaker said on Monday, being briefed by the state spy agency.
North Korean authorities appear to have urged their soldiers to commit suicide by blowing themselves up to avoid capture, South Korean lawmaker Lee Song-kweun, a member of the parliamentary intelligence committee, said, citing the National Intelligence Service (NIS).
“Also, the notes found on those killed said that North Korean authorities emphasise self-destruction and suicide before capture and that soldiers vaguely expect to join the (North Korean) Workers’ Party or being pardoned,” Lee said.
The captured North Korean soldiers have shown no intention of coming to South Korea, although South Korea would cooperate with Ukraine if asked, Yonhap news agency also reported, citing the NIS.