Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he is ready to hand over two captured North Korean soldiers back to their homeland in exchange for Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russia.
“For those North Korean soldiers who do not wish to return, there may be other options available,” Zelensky said on social media, adding that “those who express a desire to bring peace by spreading the truth about this war in Korean will get that opportunity”.
Ukraine said on Saturday that the men were captured on January 9.
When asked last year, President Vladimir Putin did not deny 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 receiving medical attention.
They speak only Korean and are being interrogated with the assistance of South Korea's NIS (National Intelligence Service), the intelligence agency said.
Zelensky posted photos on social media on Saturday showing the injured men.
He also shared a photo of a red Russian military card that lists his place of birth as Turan, in the Republic of Tuva, which is near Mongolia.
Intelligence said that when the prisoners were captured, one of the soldiers had a Russian military card issued in the name of another person registered in the Republic of Tuva. The other was undocumented.
The intelligence service said that during questioning, one of the soldiers told security officials that his document had been issued in Russia in the fall of 2024.
He is said to have stated that at the time, some of North Korea's combat units had a week of interoperability training.
“It is noteworthy that the prisoner … emphasizes that he was supposedly going for training and not to wage war against Ukraine,” the SBU statement said.
Zelensky'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 that they are from Tuva or other territories under Moscow's control.”
The intelligence agency said the soldier carrying the ID said he was born in 2005. and has served in North Korea as a gunner since 2021.
The second 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 served in North Korea as a sniper scout since 2016.
The Geneva Convention states that interrogation of prisoners must be conducted in a language they understand and prisoners must be protected from public curiosity.
BBC News and other international media have not yet confirmed Ukraine's information about the prisoners and their capture.
Ukraine and South Korea said late last year that North Korea had sent at least 10,000 troops to Russia.
The White House said North Korean forces were suffering massive casualties.
In December, South Korea's intelligence agency said 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 military is dependent on military aid from North Korea.”