Zelensky says Ukraine sent two North Korean POWs to South Korea

Ukraine has transferred two North Korean soldiers captured while fighting alongside Russian forces to South Korea, President Volodymyr Zelensky said at the UN General Assembly, ending months of uncertainty over the prisoners’ fate.

“Recently, we sent two North Korean prisoners of war to the Republic of Korea,” Zelensky told world leaders in New York on Wednesday, using South Korea’s official name. He gave no details about when or how they were moved.

South Korea has stopped short of formally confirming the transfer. Its foreign ministry said it could not disclose whether the soldiers had been moved, the timing or route involved, citing concerns for their safety and that of their families. It confirmed, however, that Seoul had held consultations with Ukraine and other relevant countries and organisations.

Yu Yong-weon, a lawmaker from South Korea’s opposition People Power Party, said the two soldiers had entered South Korea safely three to four days earlier after travelling through a third country. He said Seoul and Kyiv had agreed on the transfer around June.

The soldiers were captured by Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region in January 2025. They were wounded and taken to Kyiv, where Ukraine’s Security Service questioned them with assistance from Korean interpreters. At the time, Kyiv described them as the first North Korean troops it had captured alive after Pyongyang deployed forces to support Russia.

Zelensky said on Wednesday that taking North Korean soldiers alive had been difficult and described one of the two as having attempted to take his own life when he realised he was being captured. His account could not be independently verified.

The two men later expressed a desire to go to South Korea through interviews and communications with groups representing North Korean defectors, according to South Korean reporting. Seoul has said their wishes should be respected and that any decision should comply with international law and humanitarian principles.

Zelensky had initially suggested that the prisoners could be handed to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un if Pyongyang helped secure the release of Ukrainians held by Russia. Human rights advocates instead urged Kyiv not to return them to North Korea because of the risk they could face punishment there.

Ukraine and South Korea estimate that North Korea has deployed about 14,000 to 15,000 troops in support of Russia since 2024, most of them in Kursk. Ukrainian and independent assessments also say Pyongyang has supplied Russia with millions of artillery and mortar rounds, ballistic missiles and other weapons.

The South Korean government has said it would accept North Korean soldiers captured in the war who wished to settle in the South, and opposed their involuntary return to either North Korea or Russia.

According to South Korean reports, the two soldiers are now expected to receive protection under laws covering North Korean defectors, while intelligence officials assess their circumstances. Their exact location is being withheld for security reasons.