Ukraine has transferred two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday in an address to the United Nations General Assembly, resolving the fate of the first North Korean troops taken alive since Pyongyang joined Russia’s war effort in 2024.
“Recently, we sent two North Korean prisoners of war to the Republic of Korea,” Zelenskyy said. “These guys are not easy to capture alive. One of them, when he realized he was going to be taken prisoner, tried to kill himself. And he was shocked that fate did not let him die.” Zelenskyy did not provide further details on the transfer.
Ukraine captured the two soldiers in Russia’s Kursk region in January of last year. Zelenskyy had previously said he would hand them over to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in exchange for Ukrainian prisoners held in Russia, but human rights groups urged him instead to send the men to South Korea, citing the punishment they would likely face if returned to North Korea. South Korean media had reported the two soldiers expressed a desire to defect to South Korea.
What We Know So Far
South Korean opposition lawmaker Yu Yong-weon told reporters Thursday that the two men left Ukraine over the past weekend, transited through a third country, and arrived in South Korea three to four days earlier, according to Yonhap News Agency.
“While their exact location is unknown, I believe our intelligence agencies are protecting them,” Yu said. South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said it could not confirm the matter, citing the need to protect the safety of the soldiers and their families, and the country’s Unification Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. South Korea said in June it would accept all North Korean prisoners of war who fought for Russia and would oppose repatriating any of them to Russia or North Korea.
Zelenskyy also criticized North Korea’s broader military support for Russia. “This is madness too. Why should Koreans give their lives in a war against Ukraine? Kim Jong Un uses them like currency. And he gets something in return,” he said.
North Korea has sent an estimated 14,000 to 15,000 soldiers to support Russia’s war effort since 2024, according to Ukrainian and South Korean estimates, with most deployed in Russia’s Kursk region to help repel a Ukrainian incursion there.
North Korea has also supplied Russia with millions of artillery and mortar rounds, ballistic missiles, long range artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, according to Ukrainian and independent assessments.
Zelenskyy Calls Putin the Only Obstacle to Peace
In his broader address, Zelenskyy told world leaders that Russian President Vladimir Putin remains the sole obstacle to ending what he called the ridiculous and never ending war, urging nations to pressure Putin by targeting Russia’s revenue and war production capacity.
“Our target is Russia’s ability to finance this war, to drag it out, to make it more brutal and more destructive,” Zelenskyy said. “Russia’s finances and Russia’s production are what must be stopped if Putin is to be stopped.”
Zelenskyy expressed skepticism that Russia genuinely wants to end the fighting. “Something always seems to stop Putin from saying, ‘That’s it. Enough. Peace,'” he said, describing Putin as patient zero for the idea of war. He warned that greater freedom of action for Putin makes the world more dangerous for everyone else.
Zelenskyy said Russia has launched 63,000 attack drones of various types against Ukraine so far this year. He said Ukraine has proven that even a much smaller country can stand against a larger enemy and survive, while urging world leaders to cut off Putin’s access to money and foreign fighters.
He said Ukraine has successfully tested four new jet powered interceptor drones against Iranian designed Shahed drones used by Russia, and highlighted new drone and anti-ballistic missile agreements with several countries. He also expressed concern that artificial intelligence could eventually determine battlefield outcomes through autonomous weapons, saying peace must come before that point is reached.
Diplomatic Developments at the UN
Earlier Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov clashed with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Ukraine’s European supporters during a U.N. Security Council meeting. Separately, Lavrov met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the General Assembly to discuss the war.
Rubio told reporters afterward that both Russia and Ukraine have expressed interest in a limited ceasefire that would halt attacks on grain shipments, since both countries are major exporters, and on each side’s energy sectors, which have faced escalating drone and missile strikes. Rubio said reaching even a partial agreement would be difficult but worthwhile, noting that Zelenskyy has publicly endorsed the idea, and said the United States would be willing to help facilitate it.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry made no mention of any partial deal on grain shipments in its own statement following the Lavrov-Rubio meeting, instead reiterating that the root causes of what it calls its special military operation must be addressed. At the Security Council, Lavrov said Russia will not pause its military action, arguing that Europe would use any pause to further arm Ukraine.
He made no mention of a grain or energy agreement, referred to Ukraine’s government as terrorists, and said Moscow’s campaign aims to secure Russia’s security and the rights of Russian speakers. Lavrov is scheduled to address the full General Assembly on Saturday.
Continued Fighting and Casualties
Russian drones struck Kyiv on Wednesday, killing two people and wounding 23, while a separate strike sparked a large fire at a shopping mall in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, injuring two more people. Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces struck Ukrainian military industrial and energy facilities, logistics centers and sea vessels overnight, and that its air defenses intercepted more than 500 Ukrainian drones across multiple Russian regions, occupied Crimea, and the Sea of Azov and Black Sea.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 expecting to capture Kyiv within a week, but Ukraine’s defense has extended the war more than four years, with front line positions in eastern and southern Ukraine largely unchanged since last year. Western analysts estimate more than 500,000 Russian troops have been killed, and Ukraine has recorded more than 500,000 military casualties, including up to 140,000 deaths; neither country discloses its own official casualty figures.
Why This Matters
The North Korean soldiers’ transfer to South Korea resolves a case that had drawn significant international human rights attention, given the risks the men would have faced if repatriated to North Korea, and reflects South Korea’s stated policy of accepting North Korean POWs who fought for Russia rather than allowing their return to Pyongyang or Moscow. The episode also underscores the increasingly internationalized nature of the war, with North Korean troops, Iranian designed drones, and Western military assistance all shaping a conflict that began as a bilateral invasion.
The contrast between Rubio’s account of both sides expressing interest in a limited grain and energy ceasefire and Russia’s own public statements, which made no mention of such a deal and instead reiterated hardline demands, suggests significant gaps remain between private diplomatic signals and public negotiating positions. Lavrov’s refusal to discuss any pause in military action, paired with his continued characterization of Ukraine’s government as terrorists, indicates Russia’s public posture remains far from any near term de-escalation, even as Rubio described some diplomatic engagement as ongoing.
Zelenskyy’s emphasis on cutting off Russia’s war financing reflects a strategic shift toward economic pressure as the primary lever available to Ukraine and its allies, given that front line positions have remained largely static for more than a year and neither side appears positioned for a decisive military breakthrough.
What Happens Next
Lavrov is scheduled to address the full UN General Assembly on Saturday, which may offer further insight into Russia’s public negotiating position following his sideline meeting with Rubio. Whether the limited ceasefire on grain and energy attacks that Rubio described gains further traction remains uncertain given Russia’s public statements have not acknowledged the proposal.
Continued long range strikes by both sides appear likely in the near term, given the scale of Wednesday’s attacks and Russia’s reported interception of more than 500 Ukrainian drones in a single overnight period. Zelenskyy’s continued push for international pressure on Russia’s war financing and production capacity is expected to remain a central theme of Ukraine’s diplomatic strategy as the war continues into its fifth year.
Reporting drawn from Reuters and the Associated Press
