Ukraine hands over two North Korean POWs to South Korea
Ukraine has handed over two North Korean soldiers captured in the Kursk region in 2025 to South Korea. 'Recently, we sent two North Korean prisoners of war to the Republic of Korea.'
Consensus
- Ukraine transferred two North Korean soldiers to South Korea.
- The soldiers were captured in Kursk Oblast in 2015.
- One of the soldiers attempted suicide upon realizing he would be captured.
- The soldiers expressed a desire to seek asylum in South Korea.
- President Zelensky announced the transfer during a speech at the UN General Assembly.
- The transfer occurred after Ukraine offered to return the soldiers to North Korea in exchange for Ukrainian prisoners held by Russia.
Points of divergence
- Zelensky stated that one soldier was shocked that fate did not allow him to die after attempting suicide. — tg_currenttime
- Zelensky criticized Pyongyang for using North Korean soldiers as currency in the war against Ukraine. — tg_astrapress
- South Korea announced in June 2026 that it would accept all North Korean POWs who fought with Russian forces. — tg_astrapress
- Ukraine and South Korea estimate that North Korea sent between 14,000 and 15,000 soldiers to Ukraine since 2024. — tg_astrapress
- North Korea reportedly requested and received a S-400 missile system and a 'Pantsir-1' launch unit from Russia in exchange for military support. — tg_astrapress
- The North Korean army lost over 2,000 soldiers in combat in Kursk Oblast by 2025. — tg_astrapress
- As of September 2026, approximately 8,500 North Korean military personnel were reported to be in Russia, including 400 drone operators. — tg_astrapress
Coverage (6 sources)
- Ukraine handed over two North Korean soldiers to South Korea, who were captured in the Kursk region in 2025 'Recently m...', — ASTRA
- Zelensky claims to have handed over two North Korean military prisoners to South Korea — Вечерняя Москва
- In the Kremlin, they do not know about Zelenskyy's plans to hand over prisoners from North Korea — Ведомости
- Ukraine handed over two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea — Радио Свобода
- Vladimir Zelenskyy reported on the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea — Настоящее Время
- Ukraine handed over two North Korean soldiers to South Korea who were captured in Kursk region in 2025 — ASTRA
Key entities
- Ukraine
- South Korea
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy
- Kursk Oblast
- DPR
- Republic of Korea
- Russia
- Kremlin
- UN
- Dmitry Peskov
- New York
- General Assembly
- Severa
- North Korea
- Kyiv
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