Story perspectives

Zelensky Transfers Two North Korean POWs to South Korea

By Drooid · Sep 24, 2026, 10:41 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

President Volodymyr Zelensky transferred two North Korea prisoners of war to South Korea.
Ukrainian forces captured the soldiers in Russia’s Kursk region in January last year.
Opposition lawmaker Yu Yong-weon said the POWs arrived in Seoul three to four days ago after transiting a third country.
President Zelensky condemned North Korea’s deployment of 14,000-15,000 troops to Russia and said leader Kim Jong Un uses soldiers “like currency.”

History

Historical Context

President Volodymyr Zelensky’s plan to send two North Korean soldiers to Seoul echoes the Korean Armistice of 27 July 1953, when the United Nations Command and North Korean forces signed an agreement that created a 4-kilometre-wide Demilitarized Zone and organized large-scale prisoner exchanges. The 1953 precedent shows how POW transfers have been used as diplomatic leverage in the peninsula’s frozen conflict.

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Story summary

President Volodymyr Zelensky transferred two North Korea prisoners of war to South Korea.
Ukrainian forces captured the soldiers in Russia’s Kursk region in January last year.
Opposition lawmaker Yu Yong-weon said the POWs arrived in Seoul three to four days ago after transiting a third country.
President Zelensky condemned North Korea’s deployment of 14,000-15,000 troops to Russia and said leader Kim Jong Un uses soldiers “like currency.”

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