The two North Korean prisoners of war in Ukraine have expressed interest in defecting to South Korea, according to a South Korean lawmaker who interviewed them.
People Power Party Rep. Yu Yong-weon met with the two North Korean soldiers who were captured by Ukrainian authorities on Feb. 25 and spoke with them for about an hour and 10 minutes.
According to a recording Yu released at a press conference on Tuesday, one of the two North Korean captives, a sniper surnamed Ri born in 1999, was heard saying, "I really want to go to South Korea."
Yu added that Ri told him that he can "say with certainty" that he has decided to defect to South Korea.
Ri, who had trouble speaking from the gun injury he sustained on his jaw, was also heard asking Yu, "Could I get surgery again if I go to Korea?" "If I go to Korea, can I do things as I like?"
The second captive identified by the surname of Paik, born in 2005, told Yu that he has "almost made up (his) mind" about defecting to South Korea. "I think I need to think about it a little more," Paik, who entered the war as a rifleman, said.
Yu said Ri said he believes his combat experience in the war will help him earn recognition upon returning to North Korea. "He said he expects to have a position in the military, if he returned," the lawmaker said.
Both captives are believed to have been a part of North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau, Yu said.
Yu urged diplomatic authorities in Seoul to make efforts to allow the North Korean captives' safe defection to South Korea and prevent forcible repatriation to North Korea.
"Repatriating these soldiers to North Korea would be a death sentence," Yu said.
According to Yu, Ukrainian authorities told the lawmaker there were no other North Korean prisoners of war other than Ri and Paik. Yu said they also confirmed to him that North Korean casualties in the war are believed to be around 4,000.
Yu visited Ukraine at the invitation of Ukrainian lawmaker Andriy Nikolayenko to attend the annual Yalta European Strategy meeting marking the third anniversary of the full-scale invasion by Russia.
arin@heraldcorp.com
