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North Korean soldier in Ukraine fears forced repatriation: ‘I won’t survive’
Seoul faces a diplomatic tightrope as the captured soldiers plead for asylum in South Korea
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“I would be grateful if they take me. If they don’t, there’s nothing I can do.”
At first glance, the North Korean prisoner of war captured in Ukraine looked rather calm as he appeared on MBC’s investigative programme, PD Notebook.
But in reality, only one outcome awaits if he fails to make it to South Korea. “I won’t survive,” the prisoner said, describing what would happen to him if he were returned to North Korea.
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In North Korea, soldiers are taught that being captured is an act of treason and urged to choose death instead.
“Everyone else blew themselves up. I failed,” the prisoner said. The two captured soldiers – severely wounded and lamenting that they should have died as well – are just in their 20s. Nevertheless, both expressed an explicit desire to be sent to South Korea, and not repatriated to the North.
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International law is clear on this matter. The Geneva Convention requires prisoners of war to be repatriated after hostilities end. However, if there is a credible risk of torture or persecution, repatriation against a prisoner’s will is prohibited.
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