North Korean POWs' path to South Korea stalled over Russian prisoner exchange offer: Source

A Russian offer to release thousands of detained Ukrainians in return for two captured North Korean soldiers appears to have held up the pair's transfer to South Korea for over a year, a diplomatic source said Wednesday.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the offer to officials at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies during a recent visit to Seoul, the source said. Under the proposal, Ukraine would return the two prisoners of war, and Russia would free thousands of Ukrainian citizens it is holding.

The two soldiers were captured after being deployed to Ukraine to fight for Russia. In early 2025, they said in media interviews that they wanted to resettle in South Korea. Seoul has said it will accept them if they choose to come of their own free will.

For Kyiv, though, the two prisoners are a potential bargaining chip that could win the release of thousands of Ukrainian citizens held in Russia. That has made a quick decision difficult, the source said.

Sybiha also discussed the prisoners during talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun in Seoul on Tuesday. The two sides agreed to keep working toward a resolution in line with international law and humanitarian principles.

Seoul's policy of accepting prisoners who wish to come to South Korea remains unchanged, the source said. But the government is reluctant to pursue their transfer through a prisoner exchange or any other transactional deal.

BY PARK JONG-SUH [[email protected]]