Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he is ready to hand over two captured North Korean soldiers to their homeland in exchange for Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russia.
“For those North Korean soldiers who do not want to return, there may be other options,” Zelenskiy said on social media, adding that “those who express a desire to bring peace closer by spreading the truth about this war in the Korean language will have that opportunity.”
Ukraine said on Saturday that the men were captured on January 9.
When asked last year, President Vladimir Putin did not deny that Russia was using North Korean troops in its war against Ukraine, saying it was “Russia’s sovereign decision”.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said the two men were in Kyiv and receiving medical treatment.
They speak only Korean and are being interrogated with the help of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS), the intelligence service said.
On Saturday, Zelenski published photos on social networks showing injured men.
He also shared a photo of a red Russian military ID that lists his place of birth as Turan, in the Republic of Tuva, which is close to Mongolia.
The intelligence service said that when the prisoners were captured, one of the soldiers had a Russian military ID issued in the name of another person who was registered in the Republic of Tuva. The other had no documents.
The intelligence service said that during questioning, one of the soldiers told security personnel that the document had been issued to him in Russia during the fall of 2024.
He reportedly stated that at the time, some North Korean combat units had a week of interoperability training.
“It is important to note that the prisoner… emphasizes that he was allegedly going to training, and not to war against Ukraine,” the SBU statement said.
Zelenskiy’s office said in a statement on Saturday that the Russians are “trying to hide the fact that these are soldiers from North Korea by giving them documents claiming that they are from Tuva or other territories controlled by Moscow.”
Intelligence reported that the soldier carrying the ID said he was born in 2005 and had served North Korea as a gunner since 2021.
Another prisoner reportedly gave some of his answers in writing because he had an injured jaw, according to the SBU.
The intelligence service said it believed he was born in 1999 and had served in North Korea as a scout sniper since 2016.
The Geneva Convention states that interrogation of prisoners should be conducted in a language they understand and that prisoners must be protected from public curiosity.
BBC News and other international media have not yet confirmed the Ukrainian report about the prisoners and their capture.
Ukraine and South Korea reported late last year that North Korea had sent at least 10,000 troops to Russia.
The White House said North Korean forces were experiencing massive casualties.
In December, South Korea’s intelligence agency reported that a North Korean soldier believed to be the first captured while supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine had died after being captured alive by Ukrainian forces.
Zelensky said on Sunday that “there should be no doubt that the Russian army depends on the military assistance of North Korea.”