[COVER STORY] Zelenskyy's disclosure of NK POW transfer raises risks for families: experts

The families of two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukrainian forces while fighting for Russia face potentially heightened risks after Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly disclosed their transfer to South Korea at the U.N. on Sept. 23. Experts cited forced relocation, loss of official positions and tighter surveillance as possible consequences, but the families’ whereabouts and any punishments remain unconfirmed. Some defectors said international attention could temporarily deter retaliation, while others said the main risk arose from the soldiers’ capture itself.

The two North Korean soldiers were captured by Ukrainian forces in January 2025 while fighting for Russia and later requested to go to South Korea.

Ahn Chan-il said Pyongyang may view the soldiers’ surrender as disobedience of an order to kill themselves rather than be captured.

Ahn said the soldiers’ relatives may have been sent to remote mountainous or mining areas and pushed lower in North Korea’s social hierarchy, although this remains unconfirmed.

Yang Moo-jin said the soldiers should have been asked whether they wanted their transfer made public because North Korean defectors often conceal their identities to protect relatives remaining in the North.

Choi Min-kyeong said Zelenskyy’s international announcement may have pressured North Korea to act cautiously, while Seo Jae-pyong said any retaliation was more likely linked to the soldiers’ capture than to the later disclosure.

Published Oct 14, 2026 4:21 pm KST

Updated Oct 14, 2026 4:38 pm KST

Some defectors say international attention could help protect relatives for now

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gives a U.N. General Assembly speech at the U.N. headquarters in New York, Sept. 23. UPI-Yonhap

For two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukrainian forces in January 2025 while fighting for Russia, their recent arrival in South Korea, where they requested to go, offers freedom and the prospect of a new life.

But for their families left behind in the North, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s public disclosure of the transfer may have heightened potentially life-threatening risks, experts said Wednesday.

They say the relatives may already have become vulnerable when the soldiers' capture was made public in January 2025, but the Kim Jong-un regime's retaliation against them could be harsher after Zelenskyy disclosed the soldiers' transfer to South Korea during his U.N. General Assembly speech on Sept. 23.

Forced relocation, loss of official positions and tighter surveillance are among the possible consequences cited by the experts, although the families’ whereabouts and any punishments remain unconfirmed.

“North Korea probably had already banished the families to remote mountainous areas and stripped those in official positions of their posts,” said Ahn Chan-il, a North Korean defector who heads the World Institute for North Korean Studies. He explained that Pyongyang would view the soldiers’ capture as disobedience of the order to kill themselves rather than surrender.

Ahn said that when Zelenskyy announced the transfer on the U.N. stage, the report would have gone directly to the North Korean leader. "So we should assume their suffering became somewhat more severe ... They may have been sent to mining areas or pushed further down the social hierarchy,” he added.

Yang Moo-jin, former president of the University of North Korean Studies, also said that Zelenskyy’s disclosure could intensify the threats the soldiers’ families already faced.

“Of course Zelenskyy’s remarks increased the risk," he said. "Given past cases, isn’t that a reasonable inference?”

He said the Ukrainian president, through the disclosure, may have hoped to show the world that the country took humanitarian actions, but that this could backfire.

Yang said the soldiers should have been asked whether they wanted their arrival to be made public. “If they do not want it disclosed, it should not be disclosed,” he said.

He said defectors usually do not make their identities public, "not for their own safety but for the safety of their families remaining in the North."

Rep. Yu Yong-weon of the main opposition People Power Party, right, meets with a North Korean prisoner of war in Ukraine during his visit to the country, Feb. 25, 2025. Courtesy of Yu’s office

Some defectors, meanwhile, said the disclosure and international attention may help protect the families for the time being, although they may face harsher punishments later.

"The public announcement by the Ukrainian president on the international stage may have forced North Korea to be more cautious, so it works as a measure of protection through international attention,” said Choi Min-kyeong, head of the NK Imprisonment Victims’ Family Association.

Seo Jae-pyong, president of the Association for North Korean Defectors, said Pyongyang had known about both the capture and efforts to bring the soldiers to South Korea. So any retaliation on the families was more likely tied to the soldiers’ capture itself than to Zelenskyy’s subsequent announcement.

“Making it public therefore does not mean North Korea would suddenly punish families it otherwise would not have punished,” he said. “With international interest already focused on the prisoners, their transfer would eventually have become known anyway [even without Zelenskyy's remarks].”

两名在为俄罗斯作战时被乌克兰军队俘虏的朝鲜士兵，在泽连斯基9月23日于联合国公开宣布移送韩国后，他们的家人可能面临更大的风险。专家指出，强制搬迁、失去公职以及受到更严格的监控都是可能的后果，但目前尚不清楚这些士兵的家人身在何处，以及他们是否会受到惩罚。一些脱北者表示，国际社会的关注或许能暂时阻止报复，而另一些人则认为，主要风险来自于士兵被俘本身。

2025年1月，两名朝鲜士兵在为俄罗斯作战时被乌克兰军队俘虏，后来他们请求前往韩国。

安灿日表示，平壤方面可能将士兵的投降视为违抗命令，拒绝被俘后宁愿自杀。

安表示，这些士兵的亲属可能被派往偏远的山区或矿区，并在朝鲜的社会等级制度中被降级，但这仍未得到证实。

杨武镇表示，应该询问这些士兵是否愿意公开他们的调动情况，因为朝鲜脱北者经常隐瞒身份以保护留在朝鲜的亲属。

崔敏京表示，泽连斯基的国际声明可能迫使朝鲜采取谨慎行动，而徐在平则表示，任何报复行动更有可能与士兵被俘有关，而不是与后来的披露有关。

发布于2026年10月14日下午4:21（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年10月14日下午4:38（韩国标准时间）

一些脱北者表示，国际社会的关注或许能暂时保护他们的亲属。

9月23日，乌克兰总统泽连斯基在纽约联合国总部向联合国大会发表讲话。（图片来源：UPI-Yonhap）

2025 年 1 月，两名朝鲜士兵在为俄罗斯作战时被乌克兰军队俘虏。他们最近抵达了自己请求前往的韩国，这为他们带来了自由和新生活的希望。

但专家周三表示，对于留在北方的家属来说，乌克兰总统泽连斯基公开披露此次转移可能会加剧潜在的生命危险。

他们表示，士兵被俘的消息在 2025 年 1 月公开后，这些士兵的家属可能已经变得很脆弱，但泽连斯基在 9 月 23 日的联合国大会演讲中披露了士兵被转移到韩国的消息后，金正恩政权对他们的报复可能会更加严厉。

专家指出，可能的后果包括强制搬迁、失去官职和加强监控，但这些家庭的下落和任何惩罚措施仍未得到证实。

“朝鲜可能已经将这些士兵的家属流放到偏远山区，并剥夺了他们的职务，”脱北者、世界朝鲜问题研究所所长安灿日说道。他解释说，平壤会将这些士兵的俘虏视为他们违抗命令，拒绝自杀，宁愿投降也不愿自杀。

安表示，泽连斯基在联合国宣布移交囚犯时，相关报告会直接送达朝鲜领导人。“因此，我们可以推断他们的处境可能更加艰难……他们或许被送往矿区，或者被进一步贬低到社会底层。”他补充道。

朝鲜研究大学前校长杨武镇也表示，泽连斯基的披露可能会加剧士兵家属已经面临的威胁。

“泽连斯基的言论当然增加了风险，”他说。“鉴于以往的案例，这难道不是一个合理的推断吗？”

他说，乌克兰总统可能希望通过披露此事向世界表明该国采取了人道主义行动，但这可能会适得其反。

杨表示，应该事先询问士兵们是否愿意公开他们的抵达信息。“如果他们不愿意公开，就不应该公开，”他说。

他说，叛逃者通常不会公开自己的身份，“不是为了自身安全，而是为了留在北方的家人的安全”。

2025年2月25日，朝鲜主要反对党国民力量党议员俞永元（右）在访问乌克兰期间会见了一名朝鲜战俘。图片由俞永元办公室提供。

与此同时，一些叛逃者表示，披露此事以及国际社会的关注或许能暂时保护他们的家人，尽管他们日后可能会面临更严厉的惩罚。

“乌克兰总统在国际舞台上的公开声明可能迫使朝鲜更加谨慎，因此，这起到了一种通过国际关注来保护朝鲜的作用，”朝鲜监禁受害者家属协会会长崔敏京表示。

朝鲜脱北者协会会长徐在平表示，平壤方面早已知晓士兵被俘以及将他们带到韩国的行动。因此，对士兵家属的任何报复，更有可能与士兵被俘事件本身有关，而非泽连斯基随后的声明。

他说：“因此，公开此事并不意味着朝鲜会突然惩罚那些原本不会惩罚的家庭。由于国际社会已经关注这些囚犯，即使没有泽连斯基的讲话，他们的转移最终也会为人所知。”