The sky over Kyiv hung heavy and gray during the days I spent in Ukraine’s capital. Standing before the outer wall of a prisoner of war facility, our delegation pressed our hands against the cold concrete and wept. On the other side of that wall, two young North Korean soldiers — held under the pseudonyms Paekgang and Ri Kang-un — sat alone, far from home, uncertain why they had been sent to fight in a war they never chose.
Across Kyiv, I saw the wreckage of North Korean-made ballistic missiles and captured weapons. The evidence was undeniable: the tragedy of the Korean Peninsula is not a distant abstraction. These young men had been sent here as cannon fodder by a regime that showed no hesitation in spending their lives. And now, reports that Russia is pressing for the repatriation of North Korean prisoners of war are making the situation more urgent by the day. We know all too well what awaits them if they are sent back. Facing punishment that can extend to three generations of family, the two prisoners have already attempted to injure themselves out of terror at the prospect of forced return.
It was against this backdrop of despair that a South Korean civilian delegation visited Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War — the government body overseeing POW affairs. Our delegation was composed largely of North Korean defectors who had risked their lives to reach freedom. Among them was a mother who has never stopped grieving for a son she could not save during her own escape from the North. Standing before the prison wall, she called out the names of the two young men inside, her voice breaking: “Kang-un, Paekgang — please stay alive. We will meet again soon.” Everyone present was moved to silence.
We placed our hands on that cold wall and prayed. We also delivered more than 150 handwritten letters from defectors, humanitarian aid supplies, and personal funds secured by the Esther Prayer Movement (led by Lee Yong-hee) — a South Korean Christian advocacy organization focused on North Korean human rights — for the prisoners’ use.
Ukraine pledges no forced repatriation, proposes joint outreach program
The most significant outcome of our visit was a meeting with the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, from which we received a firm verbal commitment: North Korean prisoners of war will not be forcibly repatriated. Ukrainian officials also expressed their deep respect for the defectors in our delegation, saying they “sincerely applaud the courage it took to cross the line and reach freedom.” The headquarters further proposed that its existing surrender-encouragement initiative — the “I Want to Live” project — be developed jointly with North Korean defector organizations going forward.
Our delegation did not stop there. We met with Ukrainian lawmakers, participated in civil society seminars, and visited the International Committee of the Red Cross, pressing every available channel to secure a path for the two young men to reach safety in a free, democratic country as soon as possible.
At Maidan Square — Independence Square — in the heart of Kyiv, thousands of small flags and faded photographs mark the graves of Ukrainians who died defending their country. Families stood there in silence, carrying out what I can only describe as the solemn duty of remembrance. Watching them, I felt in my bones that this war is not merely a contest over territory. It is a fight for human dignity — for freedom and human rights.
Saving the lives of North Korean young men who have drifted to this place across the line of fire is both a universal human rights obligation and a duty we who share the same blood cannot turn away from. The prayer I offered outside that prison wall — that the truth these young men have encountered here might one day become the seed of freedom and reunification on the Korean Peninsula — is a burden our entire society must carry together.
Bringing the young men on the other side of that wall back to safety may be the first and most important step toward delivering the spring of freedom to the 26 million people still living under the North Korean regime. The hands we placed on that cold concrete wall in Ukraine must become a promise — from South Korea and from the free world — that we will not leave them alone.
June 3, 2026 at 02:17AM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)