Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has proposed an unusual diplomatic move, offering to return captured North Korean soldiers to Pyongyang in exchange for the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war held in Russia.
This proposal follows the confirmation that Ukraine has captured two North Korean soldiers who were reportedly fighting alongside Russian forces.
On January 9, Ukrainian forces detained two wounded North Korean soldiers during a battle in Russia’s Kursk region. The announcement, initially met with skepticism, was later verified by South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS).
According to the NIS, one of the captured soldiers revealed he had been sent to Russia in November, under the guise of participating in military training. It wasn’t until his arrival that he realized he had been deployed for combat.
One of the soldiers stated during interrogation that he wished to return to North Korea, while the other expressed a desire to stay in Ukraine if given the opportunity.
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In a statement on Sunday, President Zelensky shared his willingness to return the North Korean soldiers to their homeland under one condition: an exchange for Ukrainian POWs currently held by Russia.
He also offered an alternative for those North Korean soldiers who might prefer not to return, suggesting they could help spread the truth about the war and contribute to peace efforts.
“There should be no doubt left in the world that the Russian army is dependent on military assistance from North Korea,” Zelensky remarked, pointing to what he called growing evidence of cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang.
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Ukraine, along with the United States and South Korea, has accused North Korea of sending more than 10,000 soldiers to bolster Russian forces in its ongoing war against Ukraine. While neither Moscow nor Pyongyang has acknowledged such deployments, reports of North Korean casualties on the battlefield have surfaced.
South Korea estimates that approximately 1,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded in the conflict. Ukrainian intelligence, however, suggests the figure may be closer to 3,000.
The NIS has also reported significant losses among North Korean units, including high-ranking officers, due to Ukrainian missile strikes, drone attacks, and training accidents.
As tensions escalate, Russia has yet to respond to Ukraine’s claims or Zelensky’s prisoner exchange proposal. On the battlefield, Russia announced on Sunday that its forces had captured two villages in Ukraine: Yantarne in the Donetsk region and Kalinove in the Kharkiv region.
The alleged involvement of North Korean troops in Ukraine marks a concerning escalation in the conflict. It underscores the deepening military ties between Russia and North Korea, raising alarms on the global stage.
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