Activists say captured North Korean soldiers in Ukraine are seeking to defect to the South.

SEOUL, Nov 2 — Two North Korean soldiers captured in Ukraine have requested to be resettled in South Korea, according to the human rights organisation Gyeore-eol Nation United.

The group told AFP that the prisoners made the plea during a documentary interview on October 28 at an undisclosed facility in Kyiv, where they are currently detained by Ukrainian forces.

“They begged the interviewer to promise to come back and take them to the South,” said Jang Se-yul, the organisation’s head and a North Korean defector.

South Korea’s constitution recognises all Koreans — including those from the North — as citizens, and Seoul has confirmed this applies to any North Korean troops captured in Ukraine.

Intelligence reports from South Korea and Western allies suggest around 10,000 North Korean soldiers were deployed to fight for Russia in 2024, with an estimated 2,000 killed in combat.

Jang added that one of the two soldiers had previously made the same request to a South Korean lawmaker during a visit in February.

Returning them to North Korea “would amount to a death sentence,” the lawmaker warned, noting that Pyongyang instructs its troops to take their own lives rather than surrender. — AFP