Ukraine Hands Over Two North Korean Soldiers Captured in Kursk to South Korea

NEW YORK – Ukraine has handed over to South Korea two North Korean soldiers it had captured as prisoners of war in Russia’s Kursk region, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Wednesday during his address to the UN General Assembly in New York.

“Recently, we sent two North Korean prisoners of war to the Republic of Korea,” he told world leaders.

Zelenskyy said the two soldiers had not been easy to take alive: “These guys are not easy to capture alive. One of them, when he realized he would be captured, tried to kill himself. And he was shocked that fate did not let him die.”

The two soldiers were captured in January 2025 in Russia’s Kursk region and were the first North Korean soldiers to be captured alive since North Korea entered the war on Russia’s side in 2024.

Zelenskyy had previously said he would hand them over to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in exchange for Ukrainians held prisoner in Russia. But human rights groups urged him to send them to South Korea over fears of the punishment they would face, while South Korean media reported that both had expressed a desire to defect to South Korea. South Korea’s unification and foreign ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In the same speech, Zelenskyy lashed out at Pyongyang: “This is also madness. Why should North Koreans give their lives in a war against Ukraine? Kim Jong Un uses them as currency.”

According to Ukrainian and South Korean estimates, North Korea has sent around 14,000–15,000 troops since 2024 in support of Russia’s war — most deployed in Kursk, where they helped Russian forces push back the Ukrainian incursion. Pyongyang has also supplied millions of artillery and mortar shells, ballistic missiles, long-range artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems.

Source: Reuters