Human rights groups urge Zelenskyy to send N. Korean POWs to S. Korea if they wish

Korea Herald

12-03-2025

Third Geneva Convention does not apply to N. Korean POWs, who face likely 'draconian punishment' if repatriated
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been urged to respect the wishes of two North Korean soldiers captured in Ukraine and to allow them to seek asylum in South Korea if they choose, according to a joint letter from North Korean human rights organizations and relatives of detainees in North Korea.
The letter to Zelenskyy was made public as authorities in Ukraine and South Korea have been consulting on potential places of exile for the publicly disclosed two North Korean prisoners of war — one of whom has reportedly expressed the desire to resettle in South Korea — while the US continues to push Ukraine and Russia to end the grinding war.
'We ask Ukraine to respect the principle of nonrefoulement by not returning captured North Korean soldiers to Russia or North Korea against their will and to allow North Korean POWs who wish to go to South Korea, where they will be accepted and treated as South Korean citizens, to do so,' an English-language letter read.
The letter further elaborated that the condition of North Korean POWs is not within the Geneva Convention in terms of the treatment of prisoners of war, otherwise known as the Third Geneva Convention, which allows parties to an armed conflict to negotiate agreements on the repatriation of prisoners of war who have been held in captivity over a long period.
Neither North Korea nor Russia has officially acknowledged the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia's war on Ukraine. As a result, it is widely interpreted that North Korean POWs are subject to prisoner exchanges between Ukraine and Russia.
'But the Geneva Convention was drafted in a humanitarian spirit and under the premise that the country of origin would protect, not persecute, its own POWs,' the letter read. 'This is not the case with North Korea, which is more likely to mete out draconian punishment to the soldiers who surrender and their families as traitors.'
The International Committee of the Red Cross's commentary on the Third Geneva Convention also explained that 'Where the repatriation of a prisoner of war would be manifestly contrary to the general principles of international law for the protection of the human being, the Detaining Power may, so to speak, grant him asylum," according to the letter.
The letter further noted that the 1953 Korean War armistice set a significant precedent by allowing only those POWs who specifically requested to be repatriated to return.
As of Tuesday, the letter was signed by nine nongovernmental organizations focused on North Korean issues, including the Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights, the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, the Korean War POW Family Association and the Transitional Justice Working Group, as well as relatives of Kim Cheol-ok, who was repatriated by China to North Korea in 2023, and missionary Kim Jeong-wook, who has been detained in North Korea since 2013.
One of the soldiers, identified by his surname Ri, said in an interview with the Chosun Ilbo, a conservative South Korean daily, published in mid-February that he wished to defect to South Korea. Then, in early March, Rep. Yoo Yong-weon of the ruling People Power Party revealed that Ri had made up his mind to settle in South Korea after he met with the two North Korean POWs during his visit to Ukraine in late February.
The second North Korean POW, whose family name is Paek, is still undecided about defecting to South Korea, telling Yoo that he "needs more time to think."
The two North Korean POWs were captured by Ukrainian forces on Jan. 9.
The South Korean government has stated it is willing to accept North Korean POWs from Ukraine, as North Korean soldiers are considered South Korean citizens under its Constitution. The prerequisite for this, however, is confirming the willingness of North Korean POWs to reside in South Korea.