Ukraine Transfers Captured North Korean Soldiers to South Korea — SkimNews
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- Zelenskiy announced the transfer during his UN General Assembly address on Wednesday, saying Ukraine 'recently' sent two North Korean POWs to South Korea
- The two soldiers were captured in Russia's Kursk region in January 2025, the first North Koreans apprehended alive since North Korea joined Russia's war in 2024
- Zelenskiy recounted that one soldier tried to kill himself when captured and 'was shocked that fate did not let him die'
- South Korean opposition lawmaker Yu Yong-weon said the soldiers left Ukraine last weekend, transited through a third country, and arrived in South Korea three to four days ago, with intelligence agencies now protecting them
- South Korea declared in June it would accept all North Korean POWs who fought for Russia and opposed their repatriation to either Russia or North Korea
- North Korea has deployed 14,000–15,000 troops since 2024, mostly in Kursk, and supplied Russia with millions of artillery rounds, ballistic missiles, and rocket systems
- Zelenskiy used the speech to condemn Pyongyang: 'Kim Jong Un uses them like currency. And he gets something in return.'
Why it matters: The transfer, publicly unveiled at the UN, formalizes South Korea's direct involvement in the Ukraine war's human dimension — South Korea is now sheltering enemy combatants who fought alongside Russia, deepening the trilateral Ukraine–South Korea–North Korea entanglement. With 14,000–15,000 North Korean troops deployed in Kursk, this precedent of defection offers Pyongyang a new vulnerability: its soldiers in Russia now have a recognized escape route.
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