▲ Foreign Minister Cho Hyun (front, R) presides over a United Nations Security Council open meeting on the Ukraine regional security situation at U.N. headquarters in New York on Sept. 26, 2025, in this file photo provided by his office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Ukrainian FM-S Korea visit

Ukrainian FM to visit S. Korea next week for talks on ties, N.K. POWs

SEOUL, June 22 (Yonhap) -- Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha plans to visit South Korea next week and will meet with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun to discuss bilateral ties and the issue of North Korean prisoners of war (POWs), officials said Monday.

Cho will have talks with Sybiha in Seoul on June 30 and the assessments of the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia, as well as the issue of North Korean POWs in Ukraine are likely to be on the agenda, according to officials of Seoul's foreign ministry.

Two North Korean soldiers were captured by Ukrainian forces in early 2025 after being deployed to Russia's Kursk in support of Moscow. They have expressed their intention to defect to South Korea.

The Seoul government has maintained that North Korean soldiers are constitutionally regarded as South Korean nationals and that it would accept any POWs wishing to come to South Korea, while providing necessary protection and support in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.

"There has been no change in the government's basic position of facilitating their travel to South Korea as promptly as possible based on their free will," a senior Seoul official said, adding that progress is expected if Sybiha visits Seoul.

(END)

[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]