Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was ready to hand over two captured North Korean soldiers to Pyongyang in exchange for Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russia.
“For North Korean soldiers who do not wish to return, there may be other options available,” Zelensky said on X. Those who want to “bring peace closer by spreading the truth about this war in Korea will have this opportunity.” . he added.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said one of the two soldiers told officials he was thinking of going to Russia for training rather than fighting.
He was found with a Russian military ID card issued in another person’s name. The other soldier had no papers.
The SBU said the two men, taken prisoner on January 9, are in kyiv and receiving medical treatment.
They only speak Korean and are being interrogated with the help of South Korea’s national intelligence service, the SBU said.
Russia has not denied using North Korean troops in its war against Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin said in October that it was his country’s “sovereign decision” whether to deploy such troops.
On Saturday, Zelensky released photos of the two captured soldiers, showing one of them with his head and chin bandaged, while the other had both hands fully wrapped.
Zelensky also shared a photo of a red Russian military ID card showing Turan’s birthplace, in the Russian republic of Tuva, which shares a border with Mongolia.
The SBU said the soldier found with the ID card told interrogators the document was issued to him in fall 2024, in Russia.
According to the SBU, it also said that some North Korean combat units had undergone week-long training at the time.
“It should be noted that the prisoner…emphasizes that he was supposed to undergo training and not wage 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 that they come from Tuva or other territories under the control of Moscow.
Intelligence reported that the soldier carrying the ID card said he was born in 2005 and had been serving in North Korea as a rifleman since 2021.
The second prisoner allegedly gave some of his answers in writing because his jaw was injured, according to the SBU.
The SBU said it believed he was born in 1999 and had served in North Korea as a sniper since 2016.
The Geneva Convention states that interrogation of detainees must take place in a language they understand and that prisoners must be protected from public curiosity.
BBC News and other international media outlets have yet to verify Ukraine’s account regarding the prisoners and their capture.
Ukraine and South Korea announced late last year that North Korea had sent at least 10,000 troops to Russia.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said Monday that more than 300 North Korean soldiers had died while fighting for Russia, and at least 2,700 of them were wounded.
In December, South Korean intelligence reported that a North Korean soldier believed to have been 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.”
