UPDATE - Zelenskyy ready to swap North Korean soldiers with Ukrainian war prisoners held in Russia

REVISES DECK, LEDE; ADDS BACKGROUND; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Esra Tekin

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday expressed Kyiv's readiness to hand over two captured North Korean soldiers to Pyongyang in exchange for the return of Ukrainian prisoners of war being held in Russia.

On Saturday, Zelenskyy said two North Korean soldiers were captured by Ukrainian troops during battles in Russia’s Kursk region, where Kyiv launched an incursion back in August 2024.

While South Korea's National Intelligence Service backed Ukraine's account the following day, neither North Korean nor Russian officials have yet commented on Zelenskyy’s remarks.

"If (North Korea leader) Kim Jong Un even remembers these citizens of his and is capable of organizing an exchange for our warriors being held in Russia, we are ready to transfer such soldiers," Zelenskyy said in a late video address.

Expressing that Ukraine's Security Service continues to work with the two North Korean prisoners who were transferred to Kyiv upon their capture, Zelenskyy claimed one of them has expressed a desire to stay in Ukraine, while the other wants to return to North Korea.

Zelenskyy also warned that there will "undoubtedly" be more North Korean soldiers being captured by Ukrainian forces.