South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday it is consulting with Ukraine over a visit by Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha to discuss the fate of two North Korean POWs. The soldiers, one of whom is seen in this photo, were captured in January 2025 and have expressed a wish to come to South Korea. File Photo courtesy of President of Ukraine/UPI | License Photo
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday it is consulting with Ukraine over a possible visit by Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, with discussions expected to include the fate of two North Korean prisoners of war captured in Ukraine.
“We are currently consulting with Ukraine regarding the Ukrainian foreign minister’s visit to Korea,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Park Il said at a press briefing.
“If the visit takes place, there will be discussions on the overall bilateral relationship, and naturally there are expected to be talks on the issue of North Korean prisoners of war as well,” he said.
Two North Korean soldiers deployed to support Russian forces were captured by Ukrainian troops in January 2025 and have reportedly expressed a desire to go to South Korea rather than return to the North.
South Korea has said it is willing to accept the soldiers if they choose to defect.
Park said Seoul and Kyiv have held several high-level consultations and share the view that the issue should be resolved in accordance with international law and humanitarian principles.
“The government will continue efforts to ensure that North Korean prisoners of war can come to South Korea in accordance with their free will, humanitarian principles and international law,” Park said.
North Korea has deepened military ties with Russia since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Pyongyang has deployed about 15,000 troops to assist Russian forces in Russia’s Kursk region, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service has said, estimating that roughly 2,000 have been killed.
The two captured soldiers first drew international attention after appearing in footage shared on social media by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Human rights groups have urged Ukraine not to repatriate the soldiers to North Korea, where they could face severe punishment. North Korean troops are reportedly instructed to kill themselves rather than be captured.
“Returning POWs to North Korea would expose them to grave abuses, including enforced disappearance, torture, forced labor, and execution,” Human Rights Watch said in a February statement.
Earlier this year, South Korean broadcaster MBC interviewed the two prisoners, one of whom described capture as equivalent to becoming “a traitor.”
“It’s like turning against your country,” he said.
Last month, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inaugurated a memorial in Pyongyang honoring troops dispatched to support Russia and delivered remarks that offered one of Pyongyang’s most explicit endorsements of death over capture.
Kim praised soldiers who “unhesitatingly opted for self-blasting” and carried out suicide attacks as demonstrating the highest form of loyalty, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
Seoul maintains that the soldiers should not be forcibly returned if they wish to defect, citing the South Korean Constitution, which recognizes North Koreans as citizens.
