
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a post on X said that he is willing to hand over the North Korean soldiers captured by Ukraine if Kim Jong Un arranges for an exchange with Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russia. Meanwhile, South Korea's intelligence agency has said that the North Korean soldiers have not expressed a desire to seek asylum in South Korea.
Earlier, Ukrainian forces captured two North Korean soldiers, who were fighting alongside Russian forces in Russia's Kursk border region. The agency revealed that memos found on dead North Korean soldiers hint that they had been ordered to commit suicide before being captured.
The South Korean agency in a close-door briefing confirmed that it participated in the questioning of the North Korean soldiers by Ukrainian authorities. The agency has confirmed that no request was made by North Korean soldiers for asylum in South Korea.
However, the agency said that it was willing to discuss the matter with Ukrainian authorities if soldiers expressed the desire to go to South Korea. Almost 34,000 North Koreans have defected to South Korea citing political suppression and economic hardship.
According to Seoul's spy agency, about 300 North Korean soldiers have died and another 2,700 have been injured while fighting against Ukrainian forces, in what represents North Korea's first involvement in large-scale conflict since the 1950-53 Korean War.
The agency also said one North Korean soldier, who was facing the threat of getting captured by Ukrainian forces, shouted “General Kim Jong Un” and tried to detonate a hand grenade before he was shot and killed.
The agency assessed that the North Koreans are struggling to adapt to drones and other elements of modern warfare.
They are further disadvantaged by the crude tactics of their Russian commanders, who have thrown them in assault campaigns without providing rear-fire support, according to Lee Seong Kweun, a lawmaker who attended the agency's briefing.
Zelenskyy on Sturday confirmed the capture of the North Korean soldiers. Currently, Ukraine faces slow Russian onslaught in the east, began pressing new attacks in Kursk to retain ground captured in a lightning incursion in August — the first occupation of Russian territory since World War II.
Moscow's counterattack has left Ukrainian forces outstretched and demoralized, killing and wounding thousands and retaking more than 40% of the 984 square kilometers (380 square miles) of Kursk that Ukraine had seized.