Seoul effectively acknowledges transfer of 2 North Korean POWs from Ukraine

The South Korean government has effectively acknowledged that two captured North Korean soldiers were transferred to South Korea, declining to deny a public announcement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and confirming Thursday that it had conducted the necessary consultations with relevant parties.

A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said the government had "maintained a consistent position that the matter should be resolved in a manner that respects the free will of those involved and is in accordance with international law and humanitarian principles." The official added that, in line with that position, Seoul had "carried out necessary communication and consultations with Ukraine and other relevant countries and organizations."

However, the official declined to provide further details, saying the matter "is a sensitive issue related to the personal safety of the individuals concerned and their families." The official said it would be difficult to confirm "whether or how specific individuals are being processed, the timing or route involved, or the specific content of bilateral consultations."

Zelensky disclosed Wednesday (local time) in an address to the UN General Assembly that Ukraine had "recently sent two North Korean prisoners of war to the Republic of Korea."

The two North Korean soldiers were captured by Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk region in January last year. They had since expressed their wish to defect to South Korea through media interviews and handwritten letters delivered to North Korean defector organizations.

The South Korean government has maintained that North Korean soldiers are South Korean nationals under the constitution, and that it will provide necessary protection and support to any who request to come to South Korea, in accordance with relevant laws and its basic policy of accepting all such requests.

President Lee Jae Myung and Zelensky also discussed the issue at a summit in July, at which the two leaders agreed to resolve the matter of North Korean prisoners of war in a way that respects the individuals' free will and conforms with international law and humanitarian principles.