The Russians have twice requested the exchange of two North Koreans captured by Ukrainian military personnel in the Kursk region.
This was stated in an interview with Ukrinform by the head of the secretariat of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War Bohdan Okhrymenko.
According to him, the Russians are not interested in other captured foreigners who fought on the side of the Russian Federation.
"Sometimes they have to be persuaded to take their citizens. This also applies to foreigners who fought for Russia. We already have enough of them in captivity. In the negotiation process, the Russians are not interested in them. There was no request from the Russian side, except for the North Koreans. Several times they asked if we were ready to hand over the North Koreans," he said.
When asked whether the two North Koreans would be transferred to South Korea, where they wanted to go, Okhrymenko said that this was a complicated issue. Under international humanitarian law, the country that dragged them into the war — that is, Russia — is responsible for the prisoners.
"If diplomats and lawyers find a mechanism that can meet these requirements, we are ready to consider the relevant proposals. [...] If a prisoner of war does not want to return, and there is no other mechanism, then we will hold them for as long as necessary to resolve this issue," the head of the Coordination Staff secretariat noted.
North Koreaʼs participation in the war against Ukraine
Russia has been using North Korean soldiers in the war with Ukraine since at least October 2024, when the first 12 000 arrived at the front.
At first, both countries denied this, but on April 26 of this year, Russia for the first time officially acknowledged the participation of North Korean troops in the war against Ukraine, and two days later, North Korea confirmed that its troops were fighting in the Kursk direction. In addition, the Russian army command involved units of North Korean troops to correct strikes in the Sumy region.
In January 2025, Ukrainian military forces captured the first two North Korean soldiers. President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine was ready to hand them over to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The prisoners themselves requested asylum in South Korea.
In addition to military personnel, North Korea provides Russia with weapons. This includes ballistic missiles and launchers for them, as well as shells.
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