Two North Korean soldiers who were captured while fighting for Russia on the battlefield in Ukraine have officially submitted applications to defect to South Korea, as revealed in a letter obtained by Agence France-Presse. The letter expresses their desire for freedom and hopes to start a “new life” in South Korea.
The head of the organization “The Soul of the Nation United,” which specializes in aiding defectors, Jang Se-yul, confirmed on Wednesday, December 24th, that these two soldiers in their early twenties wrote the heartfelt letter in October. The letter was brought back and delivered by a South Korean documentary maker who was granted access to the prisoner camp near Kyiv earlier this month.
The contents of the letter are sincere and full of longing. The two soldiers wrote, “We have made up our minds to go to South Korea, where we see the Korean people as our parents and brothers.” They express gratitude in the letter to those who have encouraged them, mentioning that someone told them their current situation “is not a tragedy but the beginning of a new life,” which has become their source of strength in the prisoner camp.
Jang Se-yul pointed out that this letter is crucial evidence of the two individuals’ desire to defect. According to Yonhap News Agency, back in February of this year, one of the soldiers had preliminarily expressed intention to defect during a meeting with a South Korean lawmaker visiting Ukraine. The letter now represents the shared determination of the two soldiers.
The South Korean government has informed Ukrainian authorities that once the defection willingness of these two prisoners is confirmed to be voluntary and genuine, South Korea is prepared to receive them. Under South Korean law, North Korean residents are considered citizens of the Republic of Korea, and the government is obligated to provide protection.
According to assessments by South Korean intelligence agencies and Western observers, North Korea deployed around 15,000 soldiers to support the Russia-Ukraine war in 2024.
However, these young soldiers are facing extreme survival pressure. South Korean intelligence indicates that the North Korean military mandates soldiers to use grenades to commit suicide when facing the risk of capture. As of September 2025, it is estimated that around 2,000 North Korean soldiers have died in combat. The decision of these two soldiers to defect is seen as a silent protest against the high-pressure policies of the Kim Jong-un regime on the battlefield.