[Tee tiong huat]

https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/...93914.html

Human rights activists in South Korea and overseas on Tuesday urged Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to send North Korean prisoners of war (POW) to the South, saying it would not only be the right thing to do but would also help Ukraine's war efforts against Russia.

In an open letter sent to the Ukrainian Embassy in Seoul, the Transitional Justice Working Group and eight other organizations expressed respect for Ukrainians' fight for democracy and freedom, while urging their leader to honor the North Koreans' desire for freedom and survival.

"We urge Ukraine to respect the free will of North Korean prisoners of war to go to South Korea. This will not only be the right thing to do for Ukraine, but it may also help Ukraine's war efforts in the long term by inducing more North Korean soldiers to surrender or defect," the groups said.

After capturing two North Korean soldiers in Russia's Kursk region in January, Zelenskyy said he was ready to hand them over to Pyongyang in exchange for the return of Ukrainians held in Russia, under Article 109 of the Geneva Convention relative to the treatment of POWs.