Ukraine Transfers Captured North Korean Soldiers to South Korea, Zelenskyy Confirms

SEOUL, South Korea — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Wednesday that Ukraine has transferred two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea. This move follows months of consultations between Kyiv and Seoul after the soldiers were captured in Russia’s Kursk region in 2025.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry did not directly confirm Zelenskyy’s remarks, but stated it had been consulting with Kyiv and other relevant parties to resolve the matter in a manner that respects the soldiers’ free will and complies with international law and humanitarian principles.

The ministry stated it would not confirm details regarding the soldiers’ “disposition, the timing or route of their transfer, or specific contents of consultations” with Ukraine, describing it as a sensitive matter concerning the safety of the soldiers and their families.

During his address to the U.N., Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukraine recently transferred the soldiers to South Korea, though he did not provide further details about the transfer.

“These individuals are not easily captured alive,” he stated. “One of them, upon realizing he was going to be taken prisoner, attempted to take his own life and was shocked that fate did not let him die. This is how they raise people in the North.”

The soldiers were among thousands of North Korean troops deployed to support Russia’s war in Ukraine. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has also supplied Russia with vast quantities of weaponry, including artillery shells and ballistic missiles, while leveraging his strengthened ties with Moscow to accelerate the development of his nuclear-armed military and pursue a more assertive foreign policy, positioning Pyongyang alongside Moscow and Beijing in a united front against Washington.

South Korea, the U.S., and their partners worry that Russia may transfer high-tech technologies in exchange, which could enhance North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.

Following the soldiers’ capture in Kursk in January 2025, South Korea urged Kyiv not to send them back to North Korea, where they could face persecution, and expressed willingness to accept them if they wished to resettle in the South. In some media interviews, the soldiers appeared to express a desire to go to South Korea.

In April 2025, North Korea and Russia confirmed that their soldiers fought together to repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region. The two countries have not disclosed exactly how many North Korean soldiers were deployed. South Korea’s intelligence service estimated in April 2025 that North Korea had sent approximately 15,000 troops to Russia since October 2024, with about 2,000 of them killed.

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