North Korea just got exposed for trading its own soldiers to Russia
24 September 2026 · 24 September 2026Share
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses the Bundestag during the Russo-Ukrainian War. File photo. The Presidential Office of Ukraine · CC BY 4.0
Ukraine just handed two North Korean soldiers over to South Korea.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced it himself. He told the whole United Nations General Assembly in New York, about a day ago.
So who are these two men?
Ukraine's forces captured them in Russia's Kursk region, back in January last year. They're the first North Korean soldiers taken alive by Ukraine to ever be sent to South Korea. And this is since North Korea joined Russia's side of the war, back in 2024.
They didn't speak Ukrainian. They didn't speak English. They didn't even speak Russian. Ukraine's Security Service had to question them through Korean translators, with South Korean intelligence in the room.
And here's the detail that says everything.
Zelenskyy said quote "One of them tried to kill himself when he realized he'd be captured."
He said the man was shocked that fate didn't let him die.
That's a North Korean soldier who would rather have died than be captured.
Now, back when Ukraine first caught these two men, Zelenskyy said he'd trade them to Kim Jong Un for Ukrainian prisoners held by Russia. That deal never happened.
Human rights groups actually wrote to him last year. They told him not to send the men back to North Korea at all. They warned Pyongyang could punish them just for being captured. And South Korean media reported the two men wanted to defect to South Korea themselves.
So what changed?
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A concrete slab marks the border between North Korea and South Korea in the Joint Security Area in the Korean Demilitarized Zone. File photo. Andrew vdBK (talk) · CC BY 3.0
In July this year, Zelenskyy and Lee Jae Myung, South Korea's President, agreed to something different. The transfer would happen on humanitarian grounds. It would respect what the soldiers actually wanted. That's the agreement that's just been carried out.
South Korea's unification and foreign ministries haven't responded to requests for comment. North Korea has said nothing publicly. Not one word.
But Zelenskyy didn't stop at the two soldiers. He used the moment to make a much bigger point.
He said North Korea has sent thousands of soldiers to fight for Russia since 2024. Ukrainian and South Korean estimates put the number at 14,000 to 15,000. Most of them are in Kursk, where they helped Russian forces push back a Ukrainian incursion. And he said North Korea has sent millions of artillery and mortar rounds too, plus ballistic missiles, long-range artillery and rocket systems.
Then he said quote "Kim Jong Un uses them like currency."
He said North Korea gets Russian military technology in return.
That's Ukraine's president accusing North Korea of trading its own soldiers for weapons technology, on the record, at the UN.
Zelenskyy also told the assembly that nationals of 47 countries are now fighting alongside Russia in Ukraine. He named these two North Korean soldiers as part of that picture.
So what don't we know?
We don't know if North Korea will ever admit these two men are gone. We don't know what Ukraine does if it captures more North Korean soldiers next. And Zelenskyy hasn't given the exact terms or timeline of the handover.
Right now, two men who tried not to get captured, and didn't want to go home, are sitting in South Korea instead of a battlefield in Kursk.
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