North Korean soldiers were not part of latest large prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia
North Korean soldiers currently held captive in Ukraine were not included in the recent thousand-for-thousand prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia.
Source: Yonhap News Agency, citing a statement by South Korean lawmaker Yu Yong-won
Details: Yu Yong-won said that two soldiers with the surnames Ri and Baek were not included in the list of prisoners exchanged between Ukraine and Russia, which took place from Friday to Sunday. He referred to a Ukrainian source.
Yu added that the decision not to include the North Koreans on the list was made at Seoul's request. South Korea has said it is ready to accept the soldiers if they want to move to South Korea. One of them, Ri, has already expressed such an intention.
MP Yu Yong-won met with both prisoners during his visit to Ukraine in February. One of the prisoners, Ri, expressed concern in a published audio recording that his parents could be executed if he returned to North Korea as part of the exchange.
The MP called on the South Korean government to take steps to enable them to come to South Korea.
Quote from Yu: "(Ri) is anticipating a tragic end for himself and his parents if he is repatriated to North Korea."
Background:
On 25 May, Ukraine and Russia carried out the third part of the thousand-for-thousand prisoner exchange which was agreed upon in Türkiye. Another 303 Ukrainian defenders had been released from Russian captivity.
Colonel Denys "Redis" Prokopenko, commander of the Azov National Guard Brigade, said that during the three-day exchange of POWs with Russia, not a single Azov soldier was exchanged, and he does not believe that the authorities are interested in getting these fighters back.
Writer and former Kremlin political prisoner Stanislav Aseiev reported that among those released in the exchange, there were no civilians who had been held captive by Russia for eight years.
In April 2025, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un confirmed that troops had been sent to Russia to fight against Ukraine, stating that this was in accordance with the provisions of the treaty on comprehensive strategic partnership between the DPRK and the Russian Federation.
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