What happens next to North Korean soldiers sent to South Korea?

The arrival in South Korea of two North Korean soldiers captured while fighting for Russia has created a rare legal, diplomatic and humanitarian case, raising questions over their status, security and future.

The soldiers, captured by Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region and later transferred to South Korea, are now at the centre of questions over prisoner-of-war status, protection, intelligence gathering and relations between Seoul, Pyongyang and Kyiv.

Here is what experts say could happen next.

First Step: Security screening and intelligence debriefing

The two soldiers are expected to undergo an extensive security screening process before South Korean authorities decide whether they qualify for protection and eventual resettlement.

Under South Korean practice, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) investigates North Koreans who arrive in the country, checking their identity, background and reasons for seeking protection. The process can last up to 90 days and can be extended by up to 30 days in exceptional circumstances.

For these two men, however, the questioning is likely to be far more detailed than usual.

According to opposition lawmaker Yu Yong-weon, who met the soldiers in Ukraine in 2025, the men had military backgrounds that could provide valuable intelligence about North Korea’s forces, including training and deployment alongside Russian troops.

Their first-hand experience of North Korean participation in the war is also likely to be of significant interest to South Korean intelligence agencies.

Who decides whether they can stay?

Ultimately, South Korea's Unification Ministry is expected to determine whether the soldiers will be granted protection and allowed to settle in the country.

However, national security considerations mean the decision could also involve South Korean intelligence authorities.

Experts expect the men to undergo medical and psychological assessments as part of the process.

When Yu Yong-weon met them in Ukraine, they were reportedly being held separately in detention. Their prolonged isolation and uncertainty over their future may also be considered during assessments of their physical and mental health.

If granted protection, they would likely enter South Korea's established resettlement programme, which provides education, vocational training and support to help North Korean arrivals integrate into society.

Did Ukraine have the right to transfer them?

One of the most debated questions surrounds the legal basis for the transfer.

Under the Third Geneva Convention, prisoners of war are generally expected to be released and repatriated after active hostilities end. However, international humanitarian law does not necessarily prohibit an earlier release or transfer to a third country.

South Korea and Ukraine have not publicly disclosed the legal basis for the transfer, including whether it formally ended the soldiers’ prisoner-of-war status.

Legal experts say a key consideration is whether the soldiers voluntarily sought the transfer and whether returning them to North Korea could expose them to persecution, torture or other serious harm.

According to Peter Ward of the Sejong Institute, humanitarian and human rights principles can provide grounds for prisoners of war to be transferred to a safe third country of their choice, provided that country agrees to accept them.

Similarly, Lee Shin-wha, a former South Korean envoy for North Korean human rights, has said their stated wish to go to South Korea and the potential risks they could face in North Korea provide grounds for accepting them, although the case could still generate legal and diplomatic friction.

Could they have been sent back to North Korea?

In theory, repatriation is the normal outcome for prisoners of war.

In practice, experts say North Korea presents a particularly difficult legal and humanitarian question.

If individuals face a credible risk of torture, persecution or severe punishment upon return, international law provides safeguards against forced repatriation. The principle of non-refoulement bars states from sending people to countries where they face a serious risk of such treatment.

That issue has become particularly relevant because North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has publicly praised soldiers who took their own lives rather than be captured while fighting Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk region.

The two soldiers have reportedly expressed a desire to go to South Korea rather than return to North Korea.

For that reason, experts say forcibly returning them could raise serious legal and humanitarian concerns.

Why was South Korea angry about public disclosure?

The transfer also triggered a diplomatic dispute between Seoul and Kyiv.

South Korea criticised Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly disclosed the transfer during the United Nations General Assembly.

President Lee Jae Myung said Ukraine had breached an agreement to keep the transfer confidential. Seoul argued that secrecy was necessary because disclosure could endanger the soldiers and their relatives in North Korea.

Ukraine, however, has denied that a formal non-disclosure agreement existed.

The disagreement underscores the sensitivity of a case involving security, diplomacy and the safety of the soldiers’ families.

What does this mean for South Korea's Ukraine policy?

The case comes as South Korea balances its support for Ukraine against its longstanding refusal to provide lethal weapons.

Seoul has provided humanitarian assistance, reconstruction support and non-lethal military aid but has so far resisted calls to supply lethal weapons.

President Lee Jae Myung pledged $100 million in comprehensive support for Ukraine during the NATO summit in Ankara, Türkiye, in July, while Seoul maintained that it would not provide lethal weapons.

During talks on the sidelines of the summit, Lee and Zelenskyy agreed that the issue of North Korean prisoners of war should be handled in accordance with international law and humanitarian principles while respecting their wishes.

A unique case with wider implications

The arrival of the two soldiers in South Korea presents a case with few direct precedents, spanning prisoner-of-war rights, protection law, intelligence gathering and inter-Korean relations.

It could also give South Korean authorities rare first-hand insight into North Korea's deployment of troops alongside Russian forces.

Much will depend on the outcome of the review now under way by South Korean authorities.

If granted protection, the soldiers could become important sources of intelligence on North Korea's overseas military operations. Their case, however, is also likely to remain diplomatically and politically sensitive in Seoul, Kyiv and Pyongyang.

Read more: 

• Zelenskyy: More than 8,000 North Korean troops in Russia
• North Korea and Russia open first road bridge as strategic ties deepen
• North Korea condemns U.S.-led military drills as South Korea deepens regional defence ties

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News Politics Russia Ukraine South Korea North Korea