Two North Korean POWs Now in South Korea: What Happens Next

Two North Korean soldiers taken prisoner while fighting for Russia in Ukraine have arrived in South Korea, opening questions about how Seoul will investigate, protect and resettle them — and on what legal basis Kyiv transferred them.

Screening and protection

The men are expected to be questioned and screened before authorities decide whether to grant them protection and begin resettlement. The Unification Ministry said their cases would be handled under relevant laws and past practice, pointing to the North Korean Defectors Protection and Settlement Support Act.

Under that law, the National Intelligence Service investigates applicants held in temporary protective custody, checking identity, reasons for leaving the North and security-related matters. The process can run up to 90 days, extendable in unavoidable circumstances. Their military backgrounds and direct knowledge of Pyongyang's deployment to Russia could mean longer debriefings. Those granted protection normally undergo resettlement training.

Opposition lawmaker Yu Yong-weon, who met the soldiers in Ukraine in February 2025, said they had served in North Korean special forces and could shed light on training, military capabilities and the deployment. He said the case's sensitivity could keep them out of public view longer than usual, and that their physical and psychological condition would likely be assessed; when he met them they were held separately in a Ukrainian facility, and isolation and uncertainty may have affected their mental health.

The unification minister normally decides on protection, though the NIS director can rule on national security grounds.

The legal questions

The Third Geneva Convention requires prisoners of war to be released and repatriated without delay once active hostilities end, but that does not bar earlier release or transfer to a third country. Neither Seoul nor Kyiv has disclosed the legal basis for the transfer, including whether it formally ends their POW status.

Peter Ward of the Sejong Institute said repatriation is a basic principle for POWs but should not apply where it could harm their welfare or human rights, adding there is ample basis under humanitarian and human rights law for transfer to a third country of their choice that is willing to take them. Lee Shin-wha, a Korea University professor and former envoy for North Korean human rights, said the move could still cause legal and diplomatic friction, since international law treats North Korea as a separate state while South Korea considers North Koreans its citizens. Their stated wish to come south and the risks they would face in the North justify accepting them, she said.

International human rights law weighs against returning them if they face a real risk of torture, persecution or serious mistreatment, under the principle of non-refoulement. Lee said repatriation is the general rule for POWs, but international practice recognises voluntary repatriation and bars returns that could lead to persecution or torture. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has praised soldiers who killed themselves while fighting Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk region, where the pair were captured. The two men have repeatedly said they want to go to South Korea, including in media interviews and when meeting Yu. Ward said Pyongyang has little basis in international law to demand their return.

Seoul's wider stance

South Korea, a major arms producer, has faced pressure from Western countries and Kyiv to supply lethal weapons but has focused on non-lethal aid such as demining equipment. President Lee Jae Myung announced a $100 million support package for Ukraine at a NATO summit in July, while his government reiterated that lethal weapons were excluded, and Seoul pledged continued humanitarian and reconstruction support. At their July summit, Lee and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy agreed the POW issue should be handled according to the soldiers' free will, international law and humanitarian principles.

Seoul demanded an apology from Ukraine after Zelenskiy disclosed the transfer at the UN General Assembly last week, saying Kyiv had breached an agreement to keep it confidential; Seoul said confidentiality was needed to protect the soldiers and relatives in North Korea. Kyiv has said no secrecy agreement existed.