Russia and Ukraine have exchanged approximately a thousand prisoners of war based on an agreement reached recently. However, according to a South Korean lawmaker, the list of exchanged prisoners did not include the two North Korean soldiers who were captured by Ukraine earlier this year. This may be due to South Korea’s willingness to accept these two individuals, leading Ukraine not to hand them over to Russia.
Reported by the South Korean news agency, Russia and Ukraine reached an agreement on a “prisoner exchange operation” on May 16 in Turkey, with both sides exchanging over three hundred prisoners each day from the 23rd to the 25th of May.
South Korean People Power Party member Yu Yong-weon released a statement today (May 27th) saying that he received information from sources in Ukraine that the North Korean soldiers named Lee and Bai, captured by Ukrainian forces, were not included in the current Russia-Ukraine exchange list.
Yu Yong-weon mentioned that other sources indicated these soldiers were excluded from the exchange list at the request of the South Korean government, a request that Ukraine respected.
Lee and Bai were captured by Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region of Russia in January this year. Yu Yong-weon had met these two soldiers during his visit to Ukraine in February, where Lee expressed his desire to defect to South Korea.
Yu Yong-weon urged the South Korean government to continue diplomatic efforts to ensure that these soldiers can set foot on the land of freedom in South Korea. He expressed concerns that Lee fears a tragic fate for himself and his parents if sent back to North Korea.
The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs had previously stated that if the North Korean soldiers captured by Ukraine request to go to South Korea, South Korea will make every diplomatic effort to assist them in coming to South Korea and convey this stance to Ukraine.
In previous reports, Lee and Bai had been interviewed by South Korean newspaper “Chosun Ilbo” at a Ukrainian prisoner-of-war camp. Both stated that they were deployed to the Kursk region for combat between October and November last year. They were members of the elite North Korean unit “Storm Corps” but claimed to be soldiers of the reconnaissance bureau during the interview.
Lee mentioned he was captured by Ukrainian forces after being shot and falling to the ground. He expressed his desire to see his parents, having never returned home during his ten years of service. Lee hoped to attend university in the future and realize his dreams. He also wished to apply for refugee status and begin a new life in South Korea.
According to Radio Free Asia, South Korea legally recognizes all North Koreans as citizens under its constitution. This means that any North Korean, including prisoners of war, has the right to obtain South Korean nationality upon arriving in the country.