North Korean POWs: Political pawns in Russia’s war on Ukraine?
The article discusses the situation of two North Korean POWs captured in Ukraine, revealing their potential use as political pawns in the ongoing conflict. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced their capture, highlighting North Korea's involvement in supporting Russia's invasion. Concerns have been raised by human rights organizations regarding the exposure of the POWs, which may endanger them and their families in North Korea.
- ▪Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the capture of two North Korean soldiers in January 2025.
- ▪This incident revealed that North Korea had deployed approximately 15,000 special forces troops to aid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
- ▪International human rights organizations have expressed alarm over the exposure of the POWs, citing potential violations of the Geneva Convention.
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play videoplay videoVideo Duration 47 minutes 07 seconds play-arrow47:07101 EastNorth Korean POWs: Political pawns in Russia’s war on Ukraine?101 East investigates the plight of two North Korean POWs in Ukraine and the campaign to transfer them to South Korea.Read moreIn January 2025, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced to the world the capture of two North Korean soldiers.It was the first hard evidence that Kim Jong Un had secretly deployed some 15,000 special forces troops to support the Russian invasion of Ukraine in exchange for billions of dollars worth of military technology and cash for Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programme.But posting the POWs’ images online and opening their prison doors to media caused alarm, with international human rights organisations arguing…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Al Jazeera English.
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