Ukraine transfers two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea, Zelensky tells UN General Assembly

From the Newshound archive · first published 24 September 2026.

One of the two North Korean prisoners of war tried to kill himself rather than be taken alive, Zelensky revealed in his address to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday. Both soldiers had expressed a desire to defect and left Ukraine last weekend, transiting through a third country before arriving in South Korea three to four days ago. South Korea's Foreign Ministry declined to confirm the transfer, citing the need to protect the soldiers and their families.

The two soldiers were captured in Russia's Kursk region in January last year — the first North Koreans taken alive since Pyongyang joined the war in 2024.

Zelensky had initially offered to hand them to Kim Jong Un in exchange for Ukrainian prisoners, but human rights groups urged him to send them to Seoul instead.

South Korea declared in June it would accept all North Korean prisoners of war who fought for Russia, refusing any repatriation to Russia or North Korea.