Zelensky expresses his willingness to hand over to Pyongyang its two captured soldiers
Zelensky’s offer comes the day after Ukraine announced that it had captured two North Korean soldiers who were wounded while fighting against Kiev forces in the Russian Kursk region.
No evidence of their nationality was provided.
On Sunday, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service supported Ukraine’s account, telling Agence France-Presse that it was confirmed that the Ukrainian army captured two North Korean soldiers on January 9 in the Kursk region.
Capture more soldiers
“Ukraine is ready to hand over the two soldiers to Kim Jong Un if he can organize their exchange with our captured warriors in Russia,” the Ukrainian president said on the X platform.
“It is certain that Kiev will capture more North Korean soldiers, and for North Korean soldiers who do not wish to return to their country, there may be other options available,” he added.
In addition to the first captured soldiers from North Korea, there will undoubtedly be more. It’s only a matter of time before our troops manage to capture others. There should be no doubt left in the world that the Russian army is dependent on military assistance from North… pic.twitter.com/4RyCfUoHoC— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Read more (@ZelenskyyUa) January 12, 2025
He said North Korean soldiers who want to “make peace by spreading the truth about this war in Korea will be given this opportunity.”
Russian-Korean military cooperation
Neither Moscow nor Pyongyang has acknowledged the participation of North Korean forces in the fighting against Ukraine.
The two countries have strengthened their military cooperation since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot manage the fighting without military support from Pyongyang.”
The Ukrainian president posted a video of the interrogation of the two alleged North Korean captives, one lying on a bunk bed and the other sitting in a bed with a bandage around his jaw.
In the video, one of them speaks to a Ukrainian official through a translator, and says in translated comments that he did not know he would fight against Ukraine, and that his commanders “told him it was just training.”
One said he wanted to return to North Korea, while the other declared he would do as he was told, but if given the chance, he wanted to live in Ukraine.
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