Two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukrainian forces have been transferred to South Korea, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York — a disclosure that has triggered a diplomatic dispute between Kyiv and Seoul over a confidentiality agreement both sides say was in place.
The two soldiers were captured in January 2025 in Russia's Kursk region, a Russian oblast bordering Ukraine that became a focal point of cross-border fighting, making them the first known North Korean prisoners of war taken alive during the conflict. A South Korean lawmaker confirmed they arrived in South Korea earlier this week, saying they had been routed through a third country before reaching Seoul. South Korea's constitution considers all Koreans, including those from the North, to be citizens, a legal principle officials say applies to any North Korean soldier captured in Ukraine.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung expressed sharp disappointment at the public disclosure, writing on X that Kyiv had breached a non-disclosure agreement the two sides had reached. "I don't know the reasons for the disclosure, but I regret it," Lee wrote, adding that the matter is "very sensitive" and could significantly affect diplomacy, national security, and the broader security environment on the Korean Peninsula. Seoul had previously refused to confirm the soldiers' arrival, citing the potential danger to the men themselves and to their families still in North Korea. The Ukrainian presidential office, for its part, defended the announcement, saying it would have been "strange" to keep the entire transfer secret, and noted that only the basic facts — not the details of the process — were made public.
Zelenskyy used the moment to highlight the peril faced by North Korean troops fighting for Russia. "It is not easy to capture these men alive," he said, noting that one of the two had attempted suicide upon realising he would be taken prisoner, unwilling to face the consequences of capture back home. Zelenskyy has previously acknowledged considering returning the prisoners to North Korea in exchange for Ukrainian POWs held by Russia, but human rights organisations urged that they be sent to South Korea instead, warning of severe punishment awaiting them in Pyongyang. The South Korean media reported that both men had expressed a desire to defect to the South. Zelenskyy also used the occasion to criticise North Korea's military involvement more broadly, arguing that leader Kim Jong-un deploys his soldiers "as currency" in exchange for Russian military technology, including advanced ballistic missiles and drone capabilities.
The episode underscores the growing entanglement of the Korean Peninsula in the war in Ukraine. An estimated 14,000 to 15,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to support Russia since 2024, with several thousand reported killed in combat. For Seoul, the transfer of even two soldiers carries enormous political and security weight — raising questions about North Korea's reaction, the fate of the soldiers' families, and the precedent it sets for how future cases might be handled.