South Korea is ready to accept North Korean prisoners of war from Ukraine
Photo: South Korea wants to return North Korean prisoners of war (Getty Images)
South Korea has stated that it is ready to accept any North Korean soldiers captured by the Ukrainian Armed Forces who wish to defect to the South, reports Bloomberg.
“North Korean soldiers are our citizens under the Constitution and respecting individuals’ free will is in line with the international law and customs,” stated the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The country announced that it has communicated its intention to its Ukrainian counterparts and that they will continue the necessary consultations.“They should not be sent against their will to a place where there’s a threat of persecution,” the ministry added.
South Korea's statement was made after a captured soldier stated in an interview with the Chosun Ilbo newspaper that he wished to seek asylum in South Korea. The newspaper quoted an unnamed Ukrainian official, who said that the possibility of this would depend on the views of the South Korean government, without providing further details.
Earlier, Ukraine reported that it had captured two North Koreans fighting on the side of Russia in the Kursk region and that it was willing to return the captured soldiers if Pyongyang could arrange an exchange for Ukrainian soldiers held in Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier stated that around 4,000 North Korean soldiers were killed or wounded in the Kursk region. In total, North Korea sent about 12,000 soldiers to fight in the war against Ukraine.
As stated by Vadym Skibitskyi, Deputy Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of Ukraine's Ministry of Defense, North Korean soldiers quickly adapt to the current war, and currently, around 1,000 North Koreans undergo training with new military equipment in Russia.
