Zelenskyy ready to exchange N Korean soldiers for Ukrainians held in Russia
The offer was made on Sunday shortly after the National Intelligence Service (NIS) of South Korea confirmed that Ukraine had captured two North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region of Russia.
If North Korean leader Kim Jong Un can arrange for their exchange for our warriors who are being held captive in Russia, Zelenskyy wrote on X.
There would “undoubtedly be more” North Korean soldiers being taken into custody, according to the Ukrainian leader. “It’s only a matter of time before our troops manage to capture others”, he said.
The two soldiers were hurt fighting with its troops in Russia’s Kursk region, according to Ukraine, on Saturday. For the first time since their entry into the nearly three-year-old conflict last fall, Kyiv made the announcement that North Korean soldiers had been captured.
According to estimates from the West and the Ukraine, North Korean troops, or 11, 000, have been stationed in the Kursk region to support Moscow’s forces.
Russia has not yet confirmed or refuted their presence.
Zelenskyy claimed that significant losses had been caused by Russia and the forces of North Korea.
He shared a quick video that depicts two men being posed as North Korean soldiers. One of them has bandaged hands on his hands while the other has a bandage on his jaw while he is lying on a bed.
One of the men claimed through an interpreter that he had been informed that he was training and that he had not realized that he was fighting with Ukraine.
He claimed to have hid in a shelter during the offensive before being discovered a few days later. He claimed that if given the chance, he would if it was imposed on him to go back to North Korea, but that he was also willing to stay in Ukraine.
The video’s authenticity was not provided by Al Jazeera.
“One of them]soldiers] expressed a desire to stay in Ukraine, the other to return to Korea”, Zelenskyy said in a televised statement.
He added that “those who express a desire to bring peace closer by spreading the truth about this war in the Korean language] will have that opportunity,” and that North Korean soldiers who do not want to return home may have other options as well.
He did not provide specific details.
South Korea’s NIS, meanwhile, told the AFP news agency that it had , “confirmed that the Ukrainian military captured two North Korean soldiers on January 9 in the Kursk battlefield in Russia”.
One of the captured soldiers, according to the NIS, had revealed that he had received military training there in November after being there.
“He initially believed he was being sent for training, realising upon arrival in Russia that he had been deployed”, the NIS said. The soldier added that “significant losses were made during the battle” by North Korean forces.
The intelligence accounts haven’t been responded to by Russia or North Korea.
Zelenskyy had said last month that nearly 3, 000 North Korean soldiers had been “killed or wounded” fighting for Russia. However, 1,000 was the figure Seoul determined.
The NIS reported to South Korean lawmakers last month that “a total of three North Korean casualties” had already been linked to training accidents as well as Ukrainian missile and drone attacks, with the highest ranking “at the general level” being held by the NIS.
Source: Aljazeera
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