Zelensky offers to exchange North Korean soldiers with Ukrainian POWs
The Ukrainian President has said the future of two captured North Korean soldiers is uncertain - but he's open to negotiations.
The injured soldiers – one with his head and chin bandaged, and the other with bandaged hands – were broadcast on Volodymyr Zelensky's official Telegram channel.
Mr Zelensky said captured troops had options available to them, particularly if they want to "spread the truth about the war".
"For those soldiers from North Korea who do not want to return, there may be other options," he said.
"In particular, those Koreans who show a desire to bring peace closer by spreading the truth in Korea about this war will be given such an opportunity."
Mr Zelensky also said he was willing to release the soldiers – who were captured in the Kursk region – in exchange for Ukrainian soldiers being held captive in Russia.
In the social media video, one soldier said he didn't know he was fighting in a war because his commanders told him it was a training exercise.
He explained he hid in a dugout after seeing his comrades die in an offensive and was found two days later.
If given the chance, he explained, he would choose to stay in Ukraine, while the other soldier wanted to return.
North Korean soldiers are reportedly instructed to commit suicide rather than face capture.
Pyongyang has sent an estimated 11,000 troops to fight alongside their Russian allies, and Kyiv claims 300 have so far been killed.
Mr Zelensky also said it was "only a matter of time before our forces capture more".
"No one in the world should have any doubts that the Russian army depends on military assistance from the DPRK," he said.
"Putin started three years ago with Nato ultimatums and attempts to rewrite history. Now, he cannot manage without military assistance from Pyongyang."
Russia has not denied using North Korean troops.
President Putin remarked that it is a "sovereign decision" whether the country chooses to deploy them.
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