Yoo Yong-won, a member of the People Power Party, visited Ukraine from February 23 to 26 for a four-day stay. The photo depicts Representative Yoo interviewing a North Korean prisoner on the 25th. (Photo provided by Yoo Yong-won’s office).
[Seoul Economy] A North Korean prisoner of war captured by the Ukrainian army, identified as Mr. Ri, expressed his intent to defect, stating, “I really want to go to South Korea.” On the 4th, Representative Yoo held a press conference at the National Assembly and revealed this while disclosing the audio recordings of his interviews with two North Korean POWs he met in Ukraine.
Mr. Ri expressed his intent to defect to Representative Yoo, saying, “I really want to go, so I can meet my parents in the future.”
He also asked, “If I go to South Korea, will I be able to undergo surgery again?” Representative Yoo reported that Mr. Ri had sustained a serious injury to his jaw, affecting his speech clarity.
Ri continued, “If I go to South Korea, will I be able to live as per the rights I desire?” He expressed wishes to have a home and reunite with his family.
Another person, Mr. Baek, also interviewed by Representative Yoo, mentioned that he was contemplating the idea of defection, stating, “I might be making up my mind, but I still need to think about it more.”
Baek, when asked if North Korean soldiers are expected to commit suicide if captured by Ukrainian forces, responded, “I’ve witnessed it a lot, and I was carrying a hand grenade for suicide when I was injured and collapsed.”
He further explained, “It’s not something taught in the military, but individual soldiers think that being captured by the enemy is a betrayal to the country, and they come to such a decision themselves.”
Representative Yoo visited Ukraine from the 23rd to the 26th of last month on an official invitation to the ‘Yalta European Strategy (YES) Special Meeting’ by the Ukrainian parliament. During this visit, he interviewed North Korean POWs, Mr. Ri and Mr. Baek, for a total of about 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Yoo urged, “The government should take swift and special measures to ensure our intent to repatriate North Korean soldiers who express a will to defect is not disregarded.”