Zelenskyy says Ukraine sent 2 North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Ukraine has sent two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, following months of consultations between Kyiv and Seoul after the soldiers were captured in Russia’s Kursk region in 2025.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry did not directly confirm Zelenskyy’s comments but said it had been consulting with Kyiv and other relevant parties to resolve the matter in a manner that respects the soldiers’ free will and complies with international law and humanitarian principles.

The ministry said in a statement that it would not confirm details about the soldiers’ “disposition, the timing or route of their transfer or specific contents of consultations” with Ukraine, calling it a sensitive matter concerning the safety of the soldiers and their families.

In his speech to the U.N., Zelenskyy said Ukraine recently transferred the soldiers to South Korea, but did not provide more details about the transfer.

“These guys are not easy to capture alive,” he said. “One of them, when he realized he was going to ​be taken prisoner, tried to kill himself and he was shocked that ​fate didn’t let him die. This is how they raise people in the North.”

The soldiers were among thousands of North Korean troops sent to support Russia’s war on Ukraine. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has also supplied Russia with large quantities of weapons, including artillery shells and ballistic missiles, while leveraging his strengthened ties with Moscow to accelerate the development of his nuclear-armed military and pursue a more assertive foreign policy, positioning Pyongyang alongside Moscow and Beijing in a united front against Washington.

South Korea, the U.S. and their partners worry Russia may transfer high-tech technologies in exchange that can enhance North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.

Following the soldiers’ capture in Kursk in January 2025, South Korea urged Kyiv not to send them back to North Korea, where they could face persecution, and said it was willing to accept them if they wished to resettle in the South. In some media interviews, the soldiers appeared to express a desire to go to South Korea.

In April 2025, North Korea and Russia confirmed that their soldiers fought together to repel a Ukraine incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region. The two countries haven’t disclosed exactly how many North Koreans soldiers were deployed. South Korea’s intelligence service estimated in April 2025 that North Korea had sent about 15,000 troops to Russia since October 2024 and that about 2,000 of them were killed.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia was extremely concerned and disappointed at an OpenAI security breach of a government website which the artificial intelligence company took too long to reveal, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday.

Albanese made the breach public following a telephone conversation with OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman. Both men are currently in New York City to address the United Nations.

“Today I spoke with … Altman to express Australia’s extreme concern about this incident,” Albanese told reporters.

“I also expressed my disappointment that it took the company way too long to inform the government what had occurred and the nature of the way that notification occurred as well was unacceptable,” Albanese added.

An OpenAI agent had infiltrated an Australian health department website on July 18, he said.

OpenAI said in a statement that during a review of activity involving several Australian government departments, the company discovered “our models took actions we did not intend.”

OpenAI notified Australia of the breach in an email to a government department's generic address on Sept. 10, Albanese said.

Australia announced on Thursday an inquiry had been set up into the security breach. The inquiry would examine whether OpenAI could potentially be charged, Albanese said.

The inquiry would also investigate how Australian security agencies failed to detect the breach before OpenAI revealed it.

No personal information was believed to have been accessed, Albanese said.

The AI agent had gained unauthorized access into a public-facing Medicare statistics portal.

Albanese said he assumed there were commercial reasons for the AI investigation of how much was being spent on particular medicines and where expenditures were changing.

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said the incident was the first time that an AI agent was known to have gained unauthorized access to the Australian government’s information technology systems.

“The impact, if you like, of this incident is relatively minor inasmuch as no personal information has been accessed here. The system itself hasn’t been compromised,” Marles told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

“That said, this is a really serious incident. What we’ve got here is an artificial intelligence agent which has, in an unintended way, gained unauthorized access into an Australian government website,” he added.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addresses the National Press Club in Canberra, Australia, on, April 30, 2025. (Lukas Coch/AAP Image via AP)