---
title: "South Korea, Ukraine discuss handling of N.Korean prisoners of war"
description: "South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul sought Kyiv's cooperation in the handling of North Korean prisoners of war during a telephone call on Monday with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha, Seoul's foreign ministry said."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Newsdeck"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-03-17-south-korea-ukraine-discuss-handling-of-n-korean-prisoners-of-war/"
published: "2025-03-17T13:18:34"
updated: "2025-03-17T13:18:35"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 162
---

# South Korea, Ukraine discuss handling of N.Korean prisoners of war

> South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul sought Kyiv's cooperation in the handling of North Korean prisoners of war during a telephone call on Monday with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha, Seoul's foreign ministry said.

By Reuters · Published 17 March 2025, 15:18 SAST · Updated 17 March 2025, 15:18 SAST

## Key points
- In a twist that feels straight out of a Cold War spy novel, North Korea has sent thousands of troops to join Russia's beleaguered forces in Ukraine, marking Pyongyang's dramatic return to the battlefield after decades of dormancy—though Seoul is ready to roll out the welcome mat for any defectors looking to swap sides.
- North Korea has sent thousands of troops to support Russian forces in Ukraine, marking its first military involvement since the 1950s.
- South Korea's foreign ministry confirmed it would accept any North Korean soldiers captured by Ukraine who wish to defect.
- Ukrainian reports indicate over 3,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or injured in Russia by early January 2025.
- Despite heavy losses, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff suspect Pyongyang is preparing to deploy additional troops to the conflict.

## Content

North Korea has deployed thousands of troops to support Russian forces fighting in Ukraine, Ukrainian, U.S. and South Korean assessments show, for Pyongyang's first major involvement in a war since the 1950s.

Cho reaffirmed Seoul's efforts to support the Ukrainian people and said Seoul would accept all North Korean soldiers captured by Ukraine if they wished to go to South Korea, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Kyiv says more than 3,000 North Korean soldiers were killed or injured in Russia by early January 2025.

This year Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said they suspected Pyongyang was preparing to send more troops to Russia to fight Ukrainian forces, despite suffering losses and the capture of some of its soldiers.

In January, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine captured two North Korean soldiers in Russia's Kursk region, in his country's first revelation of such captives taken alive since their entry into the war last autumn.

(Reporting by Hyunsu YimEditing by Bernadette Baum)