Rep. Yoo Yong-won of the conservative People Power Party met with two North Korean soldiers who are currently being held as prisoners of war (POWs) near Kyiv, Ukraine, on February 25, local time.
Yoo, who is visiting Ukraine at the invitation of the Ukrainian Parliament and the Yalta European Strategy (YES) Special Meeting, announced the meeting in a Facebook post on the same day.
“I met with two North Korean soldiers held as prisoners of war near Kyiv on February 25,” Yoo said.
He explained that his office had directly requested the meeting with Ukrainian authorities to confirm North Korea’s illegal deployment of troops to the war. “The meeting was made possible with the understanding and cooperation of the Ukrainian authorities,” he wrote. “We are currently conducting a legal review regarding the disclosure of the meeting’s details and will decide later whether to make them public.”
The two North Korean POWs Yoo met were captured by Ukrainian forces last month in Russia’s Kursk region. They recently expressed their desire to defect to South Korea in interviews with South Korean media.
The South Korean government has stated that it will verify their intentions before engaging in discussions with Ukraine regarding their possible transfer.
Meanwhile, a North Korean soldier captured by Ukrainian forces last month, identified as Ri, recently declared his intent to seek asylum in South Korea.
In an interview with South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo published on February 19, Ri said, “I have made up my mind 80%. I want to apply for refugee status and go to South Korea.” Ri is one of two North Korean soldiers taken prisoner by Ukraine.
[Related Article: Ukraine confirms possibility of repatriating North Korean POWs to South Korea]
In a separate interview with Yonhap News, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) confirmed that North Korean POWs who express a desire to go to South Korea could indeed be transferred there.
It was the first time a Ukrainian government agency had publicly addressed the potential transfer of a North Korean POW to South Korea.
BY YOUNGNAM KIM [kim.youngnam@koreadaily.com]
