President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed he is willing to give two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukraine back to Pyongyang in exchange for prisoners of war in Russia
Volodymyr Zelensky has offered to swap two captured North Korean soldiers in exchange for Ukrainians being held by Russia.
“Ukraine is ready to hand over Kim Jong Un’s soldiers to him if he can organise their exchange for our warriors who are being held captive in Russia,” the president wrote on X.
In his statement, Zelensky also vowed to capture more North Korean soldiers. “In addition to the first captured soldiers from North Korea, there will undoubtedly be more. It’s only a matter of time before our troops manage to capture others. There should be no doubt left in the world that the Russian army is dependent on military assistance from North Korea,” Zelensky said on X.
The move comes after Ukraine said it had captured two North Korean soldiers on Saturday. The wounded men were the first taken alive since Kim Jong-un sent his soldiers to fight for Vladimir Putin. They are now in Kyiv assisting the Ukrainian secret service, the SBU. “Our soldiers captured North Korean soldiers in Kursk,” said the Ukrainian president. “These are two soldiers who, although wounded, survived, were taken to Kyiv, and are communicating with SBU investigators.
“This task was not easy. Usually Russians and other North Korean soldiers finish off their wounded and do everything to prevent evidence of the participation of another state – North Korea – in the war against Ukraine from being preserved.
“I am grateful to our soldiers of Tactical Group No. 84 of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and our paratroopers who captured these two people. Like all prisoners, these two North Korean soldiers are being provided with the necessary medical care. I have instructed the Security Service of Ukraine to provide journalists with access to these prisoners. The world must know what is happening.”
The military card of one of the captured men shows that the Russians give the North Korean fake identities with the pretence that they are from a remote region of Siberia. This trick was exposed earlier when North Korean bodies killed in the war were inspected by Ukrainian servicemen.
One of the captives is given a false Russian Antonin Ayasovich Arankyn, born 03.10.1998 in the republic of Tuva. His document shows him to be single, with secondary higher education and the profession of a tailor.
The ID was issued by the Military Commissariat of the Pyi-Khemsky district, of Tuva, a mountainous Russian republic bordering Mongolia. The other had no documents. In fact, the Ukrainians are sure that the captives are North Korean.
The SBU said that the captive soldiers do not speak Ukrainian, English or Russian. The soldier with the Russian identity said this was issued to him when he was brought to fight in the war.
“During interrogation, the DPRK [North Korean] soldier who was found with the ticket [ID document] told SBU officers that this was issued to him in Russia in the autumn of 2024,” said the SBU.
“At that time, according to him, part of the North Korean combat units underwent coordination with Russian groups for one week. One of them was born in 2005, held the position of a shooter and served in the military in North Korea since 2021. The other was born in 1999, and has served in the DPRK army since 2016 as a reconnaissance sniper.”