Zelenskyy says Ukraine sent two North Korean POWs to South Korea — SkimNews
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- Zelenskyy announced Ukraine transferred two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea during his Wednesday UNGA address, noting "these guys are not easy to capture alive."
- Zelenskyy criticized Kim Jong Un, saying North Korea "uses them like currency" and pointing to enhanced ballistic missiles and advanced drone capabilities observed across Asia.
- Ukrainian and South Korean estimates place North Korea's deployment at roughly 15,000 soldiers supporting Russia's war effort since 2024, primarily in the Kursk border region.
- Ukrainian forces captured the two soldiers in Russia's Kursk region in January 2025 — the first known apprehension of North Korean troops since their 2024 deployment.
- South Korean media reported the two captured soldiers expressed their desire to defect to South Korea, where human rights groups urged their repatriation over fears of punishment in the North.
- South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to confirm operational details of the transfer, citing individual safety and family protection concerns.
- A July Ankara summit between South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Zelenskyy produced an agreement to resolve the POW issue under international law and humanitarian principles, building on a March foreign ministers' framework.
Why it matters: This is the first concrete transfer of North Korean combatants from the Russia-Ukraine war to a third country, giving South Korea direct intelligence access on Pyongyang's roughly 15,000 deployed troops and sidestepping Pyongyang's expected punishment of returnees. The move also executes the July Lee-Zelenskyy Ankara framework while publicly spotlighting North Korea's role in the conflict on the UN stage.
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