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Zelenskiy Says Ready to Exchange N. Korean Soldiers for Ukrainians Held in Russia

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a joint press conference with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland Elina Valtonen (not pictured), amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine January 8, 2025. REUTERS/Alina Smutko
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a joint press conference with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland Elina Valtonen (not pictured), amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine January 8, 2025. REUTERS/Alina Smutko
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Zelenskiy Says Ready to Exchange N. Korean Soldiers for Ukrainians Held in Russia

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a joint press conference with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland Elina Valtonen (not pictured), amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine January 8, 2025. REUTERS/Alina Smutko
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a joint press conference with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland Elina Valtonen (not pictured), amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine January 8, 2025. REUTERS/Alina Smutko

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday Kyiv is ready to hand over North Korean soldiers to their leader Kim Jong Un if he can organize their exchange for Ukrainians held captive in Russia.
"In addition to the first captured soldiers from North Korea, there will undoubtedly be more. It's only a matter of time before our troops manage to capture others," Zelenskiy said on the social media platform X.
Zelenskiy said on Saturday that Ukraine had captured two North Korean soldiers in Russia's Kursk region, the first time Ukraine has announced the capture of North Korean soldiers alive since their entry into the nearly three-year-old war last autumn.
Ukrainian and Western assessments say that some 11,000 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 presence, Reuters reported.
Zelenskiy has said Russian and North Korean forces had suffered heavy losses.
"Ukraine is ready to hand over Kim Jong Un's soldiers to him if he can organize their exchange for our warriors who are being held captive in Russia," Zelenskiy said.
Zelenskiy posted a short video showing the interrogation of two men who are presented as North Korean soldiers. One of them is lying on a bed with bandaged hands, the other is sitting with a bandage on his jaw.
One of the men said through an interpreter that he did not know he was fighting against Ukraine and had been told he was on a training exercise.
He said he hid in a shelter during the offensive and was found a couple of days later. He said that if he was ordered to return to North Korea, he would, but said he was ready to stay in Ukraine if given the chance.
Reuters could not verify the video.
Zelenskiy said that for those North Korean soldiers who did not wish to return home, there may be other options available and "those who express a desire to bring peace closer by spreading the truth about this war in the Korean (language) will be given that opportunity."
Zelenskiy provided no specific details.

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Santa Ana Winds Pick Up, Threatening Fire-Ravaged Los Angeles Anew

An aerial view of homes destroyed in the Palisades Fire as wildfires cause damage and loss through the LA region on January 13, 2025 in Pacific Palisades, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
An aerial view of homes destroyed in the Palisades Fire as wildfires cause damage and loss through the LA region on January 13, 2025 in Pacific Palisades, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Santa Ana Winds Pick Up, Threatening Fire-Ravaged Los Angeles Anew

An aerial view of homes destroyed in the Palisades Fire as wildfires cause damage and loss through the LA region on January 13, 2025 in Pacific Palisades, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
An aerial view of homes destroyed in the Palisades Fire as wildfires cause damage and loss through the LA region on January 13, 2025 in Pacific Palisades, California. (Getty Images/AFP)

Los Angeles firefighters braced for high winds overnight into Tuesday, gusts that could fuel two monstrous wildfires that have already leveled entire neighborhoods, killed at least two dozen people, and burned an area the size of Washington, D.C.

A red flag warning was in effect late on Monday as dry, dangerous Santa Ana winds picked up speed. Gusts could hit 75 mph (120 kph) starting at around 4 a.m. Tuesday (1200 GMT), said David Roth, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center.

More than 8,500 firefighters attacked the fires from the air and on the ground, preventing the conflagrations at either end of Los Angeles from spreading overnight.

"This setup is about as bad as it gets," Los Angeles City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley told local residents. "We are not in the clear."

Officials said California state authorities were pre-positioning firefighting crews in Los Angeles as well as other Southern California counties that were also under elevated fire danger.

Highlighting the risks, a new small but fast-moving fire erupted in scrubland in the bed of the Santa Clara River in Ventura County, northwest of Los Angeles. Ground crews and several helicopters were working to contain what had been dubbed the Auto Fire, which was burning near a golf course but not yet threatening homes.

The two main wildfires erupted last week, fueled by hurricane-force winds bringing dry air from inland deserts.

At least 24 people have died in the fires since then, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.

The wildfires have destroyed or damaged more than 12,000 structures, turning entire neighborhoods into smoldering ash and piles of rubble, leaving an apocalyptic landscape.

As of Monday, more than 92,000 people in Los Angeles County were under evacuation orders - down from a previous high of more than 150,000 - while a further 89,000 faced evacuation warnings.

The Palisades Fire, which wiped out upscale communities on the western flank of Los Angeles, burned 23,713 acres (96 square km) and was 14% contained, a figure representing the percentage of the fire's perimeter that firefighters have under control.

The Eaton Fire in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains east of the city consumed another 14,117 acres (57 sq km) and was 33% contained, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) reported.

A third fire of 799 acres (3.2 sq km) north of town was 95% contained and three other fires in the county have been fully brought under control in recent days.

The Eaton fire damaged the Altadena home of Lorraine Bryan, 63, and destroyed two other dwellings on her property. She told Reuters she worries about getting additional doses of insulin that she needs to manage her diabetes.

"I'm worried about insurance and about rebuilding and getting back on my feet," Bryan said Monday, standing in the doorway of her charred home. "I need my medication. I'm trying to see who can help us."

DEATH AND ARRESTS

Deputies are finding human remains every day as they search through burned-out parts of Altadena, where the Eaton fire first ignited, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.

"It is a very grim task," Luna said, adding that he expected the confirmed death toll to rise in the days ahead.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has said the firestorm could rank as the most devastating natural disaster in US history. It is already the costliest wildfire in terms of insured losses.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman on Monday said 10 people had been arrested in connection with the fires. Nine people were arrested for residential burglaries of fire-stricken areas. One other person was arrested for arson, for allegedly attempting to set a tree on fire in the city of Azusa, about 20 miles (32 km) northeast of downtown Los Angeles.

US Senator Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California, said during a Monday press conference there was "a special place in hell" for looters.

Flanked by law enforcement personnel, he added: "And if the folks behind me have anything to say about it, there'll be a special place in jail for you too."

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power was sued on Monday on claims that it failed to properly manage water supplies critical to fighting the deadly Palisades Fire, a court filing showed. Residents who sued allege the department should have maintained water in a nearby reservoir, which was dry at the time the fire first erupted last Tuesday.

AID AND POLITICS

"Our hearts ache for the 24 innocent souls we have lost in the wildfires across Los Angeles," said US President Joe Biden, who announced additional disaster assistance for California, covering costs for debris removal and emergency protective measures.

But top Republicans in the US Congress are considering imposing conditions on disaster aid, accusing the state's Democratic leadership of mismanaging water resources and forests.

California Governor Newsom and other top Democrats in the state have come under withering criticism for their handling of the fires.

President-elect Donald Trump planned to visit the disaster zone after he is inaugurated next week, a source familiar with the planning said.

With thousands of homeowners facing costly rebuilding, large commercial banks including JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America have announced plans to ease mortgage repayment conditions for those affected. Insurers are looking at historic losses.