South Korean unification ministry's spokesperson Koo Byoung-sam makes remarks during a press briefing in Seoul, Jan. 13. Yonhap
A review of international law and consultations with relevant countries will be necessary if North Korean soldiers captured by Ukraine while fighting for Russia are to be brought to South Korea, Seoul's unification ministry said Monday.
The remarks by Koo Byoung-sam, the ministry's spokesperson, came after one of the North Korean soldiers seized by Ukraine in Russia's western Kursk region expressed his wish to remain in Ukraine.
In a video shared by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on X the previous day, one of the two captured North Korean soldiers was seen asking if Ukrainians were all good people and, after an interpreter replied positively, saying, "I want to live here."
Asked about the possibility of their transfer to South Korea, the ministry spokesperson responded that the ministry would not make any presumptive statements.
He, however, added that the matter requires a legal review, including considerations of international law, and consultations with related nations.
Under the Geneva Conventions, prisoners of war should be released or repatriated immediately after the conclusion of the war.
If North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia are captured and recognized as belonging to the Russian military, they must be repatriated to Russia under international law. (Yonhap)
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