Park Ji-won is a writer for The Korea Times who has been covering a wide range of topics from Korea’s culture to its politics. An avid journalism enthusiast to the core, Ji-won brings a thoughtful and unique perspective to every topic she covers. On weekends, you'll often find her contemplating life’s purpose on a yoga mat — with a cup of quality tea in hand. A native Korean speaker by birth and fluent in English through her work, she went to college in Japan and is learning Chinese and French — hoping to add Polish, Russian and Thai to the mix.
Ukraine FM reveals Russia wants swap between N. Korean POWs, Ukrainians
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha leaves the Government Complex Seoul on Tuesday after engaging in bilateral talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun. Yonhap
By Park Ji-won
S. Korea pushed to join Ukraine's reconstruction plan
As Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha revealed Russia's proposal of exchanging thousands of Ukrainian civilians in Moscow's custody for the North Korean prisoners of war (POWs) held in Ukraine, Seoul is being pushed to offer increased support to ensure that the POWs will be transferred to South Korea.
On Monday, Sybiha met with officials from a South Korean think tank, revealing that Kyiv has been asked to trade captured North Korean POWs for Ukrainian citizens held in Russia. He visited Seoul from Monday to Tuesday and engaged in bilateral talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun on Tuesday.
“When Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha had a meeting with Yoon Young-kwan, chairman of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies on Monday, Sybiha said Ukraine was told by Russia to do a prisoners of war (POWs) swap by exchanging two North Korean soldiers captured in Ukraine for thousands of Ukrainian citizens currently held by Russia,” a source familiar with the matter told The Korea Times, Thursday.
“But the Ukrainian foreign minister reaffirmed that the Ukrainian government’s stance is to follow the (international) humanitarian law in handling the North Korean POWs.”
The remarks made headlines as the details of the discussion between Sybiha and Cho remains undisclosed to the public. The two foreign ministers, however, released a statement reaffirming that the North Korean POW issue will be resolved in accordance with international law and humanitarian principles.
Diplomats see Sybiha's assurance as a show of the Ukrainian side's intention not to send the North Korean soldiers back to Pyongyang, and instead facilitate their transfer to Seoul.
Seoul, meanwhile, has expressed willingness to accept the soldiers if they choose to come to the South, as the case with all North Korean nationals, who are legally recognized as citizens of South Korea under the Constitution.
While an expert said that Sybiha's decision to disclose Russia's proposal shows Ukraine's willingness to send the North Korean soldiers to the South, he also pointed out that Ukraine is “managing this issue at a significant political and security cost.”
“It appears that Ukraine intends to send the North Korean POWs to South Korea by openly talking about the matter, because if Kyiv sends them back to Pyongyang, it will negatively affect the reputation of its reconstruction plan and the relations between Seoul and Kyiv in the eyes of the international community,” said Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University.
“In this regard, Seoul should understand that Ukraine is in a difficult position ... While direct compensation for the repatriation of the North Korean POWs may not be realistic, South Korea needs to engage in behind-the-scenes diplomacy — offering increased support through alternative channels, such as expanding its humanitarian aid and commitments to Ukraine's reconstruction efforts beyond current levels,” he said, adding that “South Korea should take a proactive stance to make sure that Ukraine sends the soldiers to Seoul.”
He also noted that Russia’s request is driven by its “blood alliance” with North Korea, which largely contributed to the war.
“Moscow has likely faced intense pressure from Pyongyang to demand the North Korean soldiers’ immediate repatriation, leading Russia to seek a POW exchange … Also, for North Korea, allowing these POWs to defect to South Korea could also completely undermine the legitimacy of Pyongyang's troop deployment in Russia,” he said.
Given these current dynamics, Seoul's participation to Ukraine's large-scale reconstruction plan is viewed as a way to secure the transfer of the North Korean POWs to South Korea.
Insiders say the Ukrainian government has high expectations for South Korea to join its post-war reconstruction plan, which is expected to be on a historic scale.
“The Ukrainian side wants South Korean firms in energy and infrastructure sectors to join the reconstruction of the country,” a source said.
“Nothing has been decided yet, but it seems difficult for Seoul to find strong leverage with the Ukrainian side in these negotiations,” a diplomat said.
Both the Russian and Ukrainian embassies in South Korea did not respond to inquiries from The Korea Times regarding the handling of the North Korean soldiers.