Ukraine Transfers Captured North Korean Soldiers to South Korea, Sparking Diplomatic Tension
Details and Implications of the Transfer
By Tom Balmforth and Brenda Goh
UNITED NATIONS/SEOUL, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Ukraine has transferred two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, prompting Seoul to express regret that the move had been disclosed publicly despite an agreement to keep it private.
Announcement at the United Nations
Announcing the transfer in an address to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, Zelenskiy said the two men had recently been sent to South Korea after being captured while fighting for Russia in the war against Ukraine.
Details of Capture
"These guys are not easy to capture alive. One of them, when he realized he was going to be taken prisoner, tried to kill himself. And he was shocked that fate did not let him die," Zelenskiy said in his speech.
Ukraine captured the two North Koreans in Russia's Kursk region in January 2025. They were the first North Korean soldiers to be captured alive since the country joined the Russia-Ukraine war in 2024.
Negotiations and Human Rights Concerns
Zelenskiy said at the time that he would hand them over to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un if he could facilitate their exchange for Ukrainians held captive in Russia.
Human rights groups, however, urged him to send them to South Korea, citing the risks of punishment the soldiers faced. South Korean media reported that the two captured soldiers had expressed their desire to defect to South Korea.
Diplomatic Reactions
The transfer comes as South Korea has voiced support for efforts to revive dialogue with North Korea and US President Donald Trump has renewed his willingness to engage with Pyongyang.
South Korea's Response
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said it was "deeply regretful" that Ukraine had made the transfer public, adding that the two sides had agreed not to disclose it.
"The repatriation of North Korean prisoners is a highly sensitive issue with significant implications for diplomacy, national security, and the situation on the Korean Peninsula," Lee said in an X post.
Timing of Transfer
Opposition politicians in South Korea questioned why Seoul had not announced the matter first.
Political and Security Considerations
South Korean opposition lawmaker Yu Yong-weon told reporters on Thursday that the two men had left Ukraine last weekend, transited through a third country and arrived in South Korea three to four days ago, Yonhap News Agency reported.
"While their exact location is unknown, I believe our intelligence agencies are protecting them," Yu was quoted as saying.
South Korea's Foreign Ministry declined to confirm the report, citing concerns for the safety of the soldiers and their families. The country's Unification Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
South Korea said in June it would accept any North Korean prisoners of war captured after fighting for Russia and opposed their repatriation to either Russia or North Korea.
International and Military Context
In his address, Zelenskiy criticised North Korea's deployment of troops to support Moscow.
"This is madness too. Why should Koreans give their lives in a war against Ukraine? Kim Jong Un uses them like currency. And he gets something in return," he said.
North Korea has sent an estimated 14,000-15,000 troops to support Russia's war since 2024, according to Ukrainian and South Korean estimates, with most deployed in the Kursk region to help repel a Ukrainian incursion.
Pyongyang has also supplied Russia with millions of artillery and mortar rounds, as well as ballistic missiles, long-range artillery systems and multiple-launch rocket systems, according to Ukrainian and independent assessments.
(Reporting by Brenda Goh and Joyce Lee in Seoul and Tom Balmforth in New York; Additional Reporting by Hyunsu Yim in Barcelona; Editing by Stephen Coates and Ros Russell)
