N. Korean soldier captured by Ukraine voices intent to go to S. Korea: lawmaker

A North Korean soldier caught alive by Ukraine has told a South Korean lawmaker that he wants to go to South Korea, asking whether he could “live as I wish with the rights” he hoped for once in Seoul, according to the lawmaker Tuesday.

Rep. Yu Yong-weon made the remarks during a press conference at the National Assembly following his trip to Ukraine on Feb. 23-26 as he released an audio clip of his 70-minute talks with the soldier, identified only by his surname Ri, and another wounded soldier captured by Ukrainian forces in January during combat against Kyiv in Russia’s Kursk region.

“I really want to go and meet my parents,” Ri told the lawmaker, asking if he could get surgery if he goes to Seoul.

Ri, who sustained serious wounds to his jaw and arm, was unable to pronounce words correctly, according to Yu.

“If I go to (South) Korea, will I be able to live as I wish with the rights I hope for?” he asked Yu. “Will I be able to have a home and start a family?”

In a recent interview with the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo, Ri also expressed his intention to go to South Korea. The South Korean government has since said it is willing to provide protection and support if the soldier requests to come to Seoul.

The other soldier, identified by his surname Paek, said he needed more time to think about the defection.

When asked whether North Korean soldiers choose to kill themselves if captured by Ukrainian troops, he said “I’ve seen it many times, and when I was injured and fell to the ground, I myself had a grenade for self-destruction.”

He explained that there were no instructions to do so but that it was a personal choice because the soldiers believed “being captured by the enemy is a betrayal to our own country.”

Yu urged diplomatic authorities to “make every effort” to ensure that North Korean soldiers captured as prisoners of war in Ukraine are not forcibly repatriated to the North.