Ukraine and South Korea could not agree on the fate of North Korean prisoners

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and South Korea, Andrei Sibiga and Cho Hyun, discussed the issue of repatriation of North Korean military personnel captured by the Ukrainian Armed Forces during the fighting in the Kursk region. As a result of the negotiations, the ministers failed to reach a joint decision. This was reported by the South Korean publication The Hankyoreh.

“The country's departments are engaged in a constructive discussion based on the agreement that the issue of North Korean prisoners of war should be resolved in accordance with international law and humanitarian principles,” said Park Il, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea.

According to the newspaper, two North Korean captured soldiers allegedly refused to return home and asked for asylum in South Korea. Seoul is ready to accept them, since according to the constitution it considers them citizens of its country, and is now discussing this issue with Kiev. The Ukrainian government agreed that it was impossible to return military personnel to the DPRK against their will, but the decision to send them to Seoul has not yet been finally made.