The offer came after Ukraine announced the capture of two North Korean soldiers in Russia’s Kursk region.

Ukrainian President Zelensky says Kyiv is ‘ready to hand over’ Captured North Korean soldiers in exchange for Ukrainian prisoners of war held in Russia.

South Korea made the offer on Sunday, hours after its National Intelligence Service (NIS) confirmed Ukraine’s announcement of the capture of two North Korean soldiers in Russia’s Kursk region.

Writing on X, Zelensky said Ukraine was willing to hand over the soldiers to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “if he could organize an exchange of our fighters captured by Russia.”

The Ukrainian leader said “there is no doubt that more” North Korean soldiers will be captured in the fighting. “It’s only a matter of time before our forces manage to capture others,” he said.

Ukraine said on Saturday that two soldiers were injured while fighting Ukrainian troops in Russia’s Kursk region. It is the first time Kiev has announced the capture of North Korean soldiers since North Korea joined the nearly three-year war last fall.

Ukrainian and Western assessments indicate that some 11,000 soldiers Troops from Russia’s ally North Korea have been deployed in the Kursk region to support Moscow’s forces.

Russia has neither confirmed nor denied their existence.

Zelensky said Russian and North Korean troops suffered heavy losses.

He posted a brief video showing the interrogation of two men dressed as North Korean soldiers. One of them was lying on the bed with bandages on his hands, the other was sitting with a bandage on his chin.

One of the men said through an interpreter that he had no idea he was fighting against Ukraine and was told he was taking part in a training exercise.

He said he hid in a shelter during the offensive and was found days later. He said if he was ordered to return to North Korea, he would, but was prepared to stay in Ukraine if given the chance.

Al Jazeera was unable to verify the video.

“One of them (the soldier) expressed his wish to stay in Ukraine, and the other wanted to return to South Korea,” Zelensky said in a televised statement.

He added that there may be other options for North Korean soldiers who don’t want to go home, and “those who express their desire to bring peace closer by spreading the truth about this war in Korean will be given the opportunity.”

He did not provide specific details.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service told AFP it “confirmed that the Ukrainian military captured two North Korean soldiers on the battlefield of Kursk, Russia, on January 9.”

The National Intelligence Service said a captured soldier revealed that he received military training from the Russian army after arriving there in November.

“He initially thought he was sent for training, but realized he had been deployed after arriving in Russia,” the National Intelligence Service said. The soldier also said the North Korean army “suffered heavy losses during the battle.”

Neither Russia nor North Korea responded to the intelligence accounts.

Zelensky said last month that nearly 3,000 North Korean soldiers had been “killed or wounded” while fighting for Russia. But Seoul The number is 1,000.

The National Intelligence Service told South Korean lawmakers last month that “several North Korean casualties” have been attributed to Ukrainian missile and drone strikes and training accidents, with the highest ranking being “at least the general level.”

North Korea is preparing to send more troops to Ukraine due to troop losses, according to Seoul’s military.