After capture, North Korean POWs expressed fears of repercussions for family back home

The two North Korean prisoners of war captured by Ukraine. (still from “PD Note”)

As South Korea’s political opposition loudly protests the secret arrival of two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukrainian forces in Russia, the Korean media’s past interviews with the two prisoners are back in the spotlight. In the interviews, the men voiced their desperation to come to Korea, as well as their fear that their families back home might suffer because of them.

MBC’s current affairs program “PD Note” aired interviews with the prisoners during a Jan. 27 episode titled “The Russia-Ukraine War and North Korean Troops.”

Appearing on camera under the pseudonyms Ri Kang-un and Paik Pyong-kang, the two young men spoke cautiously about their circumstances. The interviews were conducted in Ukraine last October by the journalist Kim Young-mi, who specializes in conflict zones, about 10 months after their capture.

Ri Kang-un (pseudonym), one of the North Korean POWs, says, “Being alive is such an uncomfortable thing for me.” still from ‘PD Note’)

“If South Korea doesn’t take me, I’ll have no choice but to die”

Ri, who had suffered gunshot wounds to his arm and jaw, said he had wanted to go to South Korea from the outset.

“I wish I could go, but I can’t act on those wishes,” he said. “I desperately want to go and see [South Korea], but I can’t go unless someone sends me.”

“I’d be grateful if they took me. If they don’t, there’s nothing I can do about it. If they don’t take me, I’ll have no choice but to die.”

At the time, Ri feared he might be repatriated to the North instead of the South. He asked whether North Korea’s deployment of troops to Russia’s war with Ukraine had been reported in the North Korean media.

“If it has, then I guess it won’t be long before I’m sent back. It only stands to reason that my repatriation is getting closer,” he said.

“I’m really worried [about being sent back]. I’ve often woken up in the middle of the night with worry.”

Paik, whose leg was injured in a Ukrainian drone attack, was also certain about needing to go to South Korea.

“I know for sure I want to go, but wanting that is no guarantee I’ll actually get to go,” he said.

“Now that I’ve made up my mind, I hope they understand how I feel and will help me out.”

Both men also expressed concern for their families in North Korea.

In another PD Notebook interview broadcast on Jan. 20, Ri said, “I don’t even know if my mother is still alive. I worry that something might have happened to her because of me.”

“She shouldn’t have given birth to someone like me. Being taken prisoner is as bad as being a turncoat. It’s like betraying your country,” he said.

Paik Pyong-kang (pseudonym), one of the North Korean POWs, says, “We’re all people, and nobody wants to die. Nobody takes life as casually as that.” (still from “PD Note”)

 
Parents unaware of son’s deployment

Paik said that the last time he saw his parents was when he enlisted and that they were not even aware he had been deployed to Russia’s war with Ukraine.

“If something bad happens to my parents because of me, wouldn’t that make me an even worse son? I think it would have been better to die an honest death,” he said.

“We’re all human. Who wants to die? Who takes their life so lightly? You make that choice because there’s no other way, because you’ve been backed into a corner,” he added.

South Korea’s main opposition People Power Party (PPP) has taken issue with the government’s decision to keep the prisoners’ arrival in Korea under wraps.

President Lee Jae Myung explained the government’s decision on X on Thursday.

“To be sure, there were some within the government who argued that we should publicize the return of the North Korean prisoners, since that would clearly help boost the administration’s approval ratings. But considering the various issues that would arise from disclosure, keeping it confidential was the right decision in every respect, and that was what we agreed to,” he wrote.

That elicited a response from PPP floor leader Rep. Jeong Jeom-sig on Facebook the next day.

“Why [was President Lee] so fixated on keeping this secret? Was he really that afraid of upsetting Kim Jong-un? Does that fear stem from his connection to a case involving cash remittances to North Korea?”

Rep. Park Sung-joon, a senior spokesperson for the Democratic Party, issued a rebuttal on Sunday.

“The agreement to keep [the return] confidential was reached out of consideration for the safety of the defectors, the well-being of their families in North Korea, and potential ramifications for the Korean Peninsula, yet the PPP is out there spreading conspiracy theories,” he said.

A letter that Paik wrote in response to letters from North Korean defectors in South Korea. (still from “PD Note”)