Ukraine and South Korea to negotiate fate of North Korean prisoners of war
On June 30, the foreign ministers of Ukraine and South Korea will meet in Seoul to discuss North Korean soldiers captured while fighting for Russia. South Korea has offered to accept any who wish to resettle.
On June 30, the foreign ministers of Ukraine and South Korea will hold talks in Seoul focusing on North Korean prisoners of war who were captured in Ukraine after fighting on Russia's side. The announcement was made by South Korea's Foreign Ministry, as reported by Reuters.
South Korea stated it is ready to accept all North Korean POWs who fought for Russia, provided they express a desire to go. The ministry emphasized opposition to any repatriation to Russia or North Korea against the prisoners' will. This stance is rooted in South Korea's constitution, which claims the entire Korean Peninsula as its territory, effectively considering all North Koreans as its citizens.
In December 2025, two North Korean soldiers captured in Ukraine wrote a letter requesting to move to South Korea. They had been taken prisoner in January 2025 in the Kursk region. Ukrainian special forces released video footage showing the capture and evacuation of one of them from Russia.
Russian outlet "Agency. News" reported that a fake military ID found on one of the North Korean captives was issued in the name of a real resident of the Tuva Republic.
