Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga and his South Korean counterpart Cho Tae-yul had a telephone conversation during which they discussed the repatriation of North Korean prisoners of war.
This is reported by the largest South Korean news agency Yonhap.
Cho Tae-yul told Andriy Sibiza that captured POWs are considered South Korean citizens under the Constitution. If they want to return to South Korea, not the DPRK, their decision will be accepted.
During the conversation, Cho Tae-yul also said that South Korea will cooperate with other countries to restore peace and post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. Andriy Sybiga shared information about Ukraineʼs negotiations with the United States to end the war with Russia and stressed the importance of international cooperation to achieve peace.
Participation of the DPRK military in the war in Ukraine
Ukrainian intelligence reported on October 24, 2024, that the first soldiers from the DPRK had already arrived at the front — in the Kursk region. There are approximately 12,000 soldiers, including 500 officers and three generals.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that more than 3,000 soldiers from the DPRK have already been killed or wounded. South Korean intelligence believes that 300 soldiers have been killed in the war and almost 2,700 have been wounded.
Zelensky first reported on December 27, 2024, that the Ukrainian Defense Forces had captured North Korean soldiers, but those prisoners died of wounds. The second time, North Korean soldiers were captured in January. Ukraine is ready to exchange them for its own soldiers. Currently, it is officially known about two soldiers from the DPRK who were captured by Ukraine in the Kursk region.
South Korean intelligence believes that North Korea sent a new batch of troops to Russia in February 2025. They will be deployed on the contact line in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation, where Russian soldiers are trying to push back Ukrainian fighters.
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