Overview
- Two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukraine wrote a late-October letter saying they want to start a new life in South Korea, according to a rights group that shared the text with media.
- The letter was drafted after a meeting with a South Korean documentary producer at a Kyiv POW facility, and the group says a recorded interview is expected to be released next month.
- South Korea has informed Kyiv it will accept the men if their intentions are confirmed and has urged that they not be forcibly repatriated.
- The prisoners were seized after being wounded in fighting in Russia’s Kursk region, where they were serving alongside Russian forces.
- South Korean and Western intelligence say North Korea has sent thousands of troops to support Russia, with at least 600 reported dead, and officials and advocates warn the captives could face severe punishment if returned.