In the latest development concerning two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukraine last year while fighting for Russia, South Korea's National Human Rights Commission on Monday urged Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Prime Minister Kim Min-seok to expedite their transfer to South Korea. The POWs, detained since early 2025 in the Kursk region, have repeatedly expressed defection wishes in interviews.
The National Human Rights Commission decided at a Monday plenary session in central Seoul to "state their opinion"—rather than a formal recommendation—on facilitating the soldiers' transfer. This follows Foreign Minister Cho's March assurance that Ukraine would not repatriate them to Russia and that his ministry is working to bring them to South Korea per the Constitution.
The case was discussed but unresolved at last month's plenary, as some members wanted to allow more time for the foreign ministry. TV producer Kim Young-mi, who interviewed the soldiers in Ukraine for MBC last January, attended and reaffirmed their defection desires. One soldier told her he would kill himself rather than return to North Korea, fearing punishment.
