It was recently confirmed that two North Korean soldiers, captured by the Ukrainian army in early last year, entered South Korea. South Korea's left-leaning newspaper criticized that 'the conservative opposition party's attitude is to try to politicize the non-disclosure,' and appealed that 'the principles of humanity and human rights of the two should be upheld.'

The existence of the two North Korean prisoners became known in January last year, when Ukrainian President Zelenskyy disclosed through SNS the fact that the Ukrainian army had captured them alive in Russia's Kursk region. The two had expressed their intention to defect (seek asylum) to South Korea through media interviews and other means.

On September 23, President Zelenskyy explicitly stated in his speech at the UN General Assembly, 'We recently sent two North Korean military prisoners of war to the Republic of Korea.' The fact that they were repatriated became public. On the 24th, President Lee Jae-myung expressed regret about this matter, saying, 'They broke a non-disclosure agreement and made it public,' and 'I don't know what the circumstances are, but it is very regrettable.'

The Hankyoreh newspaper, in its editorial, commented that 'given that those who expressed their intention to defect could face serious threats if they returned to North Korea, the agreement between the South Korean government and the Ukrainian government for them to go to South Korea is a desirable decision from a humanitarian perspective.' It continued, 'The South Korean government's explanation is that it had agreed with the Ukrainian side to keep the repatriation process non-public, considering the safety of the North Korean military prisoners and their families remaining in North Korea.'

Regarding the disclosure, it pointed out, 'Now that the fact itself has been made public, the government should do its utmost to thoroughly protect the safety of these two individuals and help them settle safely in South Korean society.' It criticized claims by the main opposition party, the 'People Power Party,' among others, that 'the government is keeping it non-public because it is too concerned about North Korea's reaction,' as 'pretext.'

On September 25, Floor Leader Chung Jeom-sik of the 'People Power Party' posted on Facebook, 'What was the reason for insisting on non-disclosure? Were they so afraid of upsetting Kim Jong-un? Or is it because they have a weakness related to the 'remittances to North Korea incident'?'

The editorial questioned, 'Why does the 'People Power Party,' which has always loudly advocated for the human rights of North Korean residents, turn a blind eye to the safety of these two North Korean soldiers and their families? Isn't it true that openly publicizing the North Korean military prisoners' move to South Korea and provoking North Korea does nothing for South Korea's national security?'

Furthermore, it emphasized, 'The principle that must be upheld when dealing with this matter is to maintain a humanitarian and human rights-oriented stance towards the two North Korean soldiers.' It also called for, 'One should not become passive due to concerns about negatively affecting relations with North Korea or Russia, nor is an approach permissible that seeks to obtain material to attack North Korea or Russia through the testimonies of the two. Instead, the issue must be resolved by focusing solely on the human rights and safety of the two.' (Editor/Hinata)