South Korea silent on Ukraine’s POW transfer offer

The Lee Jae-myung administration has moved quickly and meticulously in taking steps viewed as favorable to North Korea. On Aug. 5, more than 20 loudspeakers used for anti-North broadcasts were dismantled within a day of ending the broadcasts. In early July, the National Intelligence Service abruptly halted radio and television transmissions to the North that had been in place for more than 50 years. Six North Korean defectors who had drifted south were swiftly repatriated, and the guidelines for reporting contact with North Korean residents were abolished.

Despite these gestures, Pyongyang’s response was cold. On July 28, Kim Yo Jong declared that “no matter how much the Lee Jae-myung government puts on a show of acting like compatriots and doing all sorts of righteous things to attract our attention and gain the international spotlight, there will be no change in our perception of South Korea as an adversary.” She added, “We have no interest in any policy made in Seoul, no proposals are of concern to us, and there is no possibility of sitting down with South Korea or having anything to discuss.” At this point, even rescheduling joint military exercises with the United States or repatriating unconverted long-term prisoners would likely have no effect.

While officials in Seoul appear preoccupied with finding “something that will satisfy Kim Jong Un and President Lee,” two young North Korean soldiers captured by Ukrainian forces after fighting in the war have been left in limbo for more than seven months. They have repeatedly expressed their wish to come to South Korea, yet no one here seems to take an interest.

According to a source familiar with the situation in Ukraine, “At first, the Ukrainian authorities considered requesting compensation in exchange for transferring the prisoners to South Korea, but now they are willing to send them without any conditions if Seoul simply agrees to take them.”

Even so, the South Korean government agencies that could bring the prisoners home seem unwilling to raise the issue, apparently fearing political repercussions. In reality, if President Lee ordered their repatriation, it could happen immediately. A South Korean official could travel with a lawyer and, under international law, complete the procedures to bring them back.

North Korean troops deployed to Ukraine are a stark example of life under the regime. The National Intelligence Service estimates that 15,000 soldiers have been sent, with more than 4,700 casualties, including over 600 deaths. That only two have been captured alive is highly unusual. Deeply indoctrinated North Korean soldiers often choose suicide over capture, but that is not the full story.

Ukrainian soldiers have testified that “if North Korean troops cannot evacuate an injured comrade, they kill them before retreating.” This is because commanders face strict collective punishment when subordinates are taken prisoner. In the history of warfare, no army has punished leaders for failing to kill wounded comrades. Even Japan’s kamikaze units did not go this far.

The Ukrainian military formed special units to capture North Korean troops but managed to seize only two alive, both of them wounded. These prisoners reportedly said that “if we had had grenades, we would have blown ourselves up.” Last December, when the first prisoner was taken, Ukrainian forces announced he had died from severe injuries, but it was later revealed that he had taken his own life. Another prisoner’s hands were heavily bandaged not because of combat wounds but to prevent him from committing suicide.

In such circumstances, it is nothing short of a miracle that two soldiers were captured alive and later decided to seek refuge in South Korea. Yet that miracle is being ignored.

Is it of no concern to us that these young North Koreans became soldiers capable of killing comrades they had eaten with for a decade, or that they were brainwashed to give up their lives without hesitation, all because of Kim Jong Un?

South Korea is a country where fundraising ads for refugees air on television. Yet only a few dozen kilometers to the north, compatriots in a war zone smile over a lump of pork fat, not knowing when death might come. Some young men even volunteer for deployment to Russia, believing that even if they die there, they will at least live warmly and well-fed until then.

We cannot save all North Koreans. But we can extend a hand to two young men, aged 20 and 26, who survived a hellish battlefield and wish to start new lives. If they are abandoned, the Lee administration’s claim of humanitarianism toward the North must be interpreted differently. Is it humanitarian only when it pleases Kim Jong Un and not when it cannot? The two young men are still asking, “When will you take us to South Korea?”