North Korean POWs in Ukraine: Navigating the Legal Framework for Transfer or Repatriation
10-02-2025
UpRights’ Legal Researcher Nurul M. Azmi and Legal Adviser Ciara Laverty examine legal questions arising from Ukraine’s capture of North Korean soldiers fighting alongside Russian forces in a new post for OpinioJuris. The post provides an in-depth exploration of the legal framework governing the transfer or repatriation of North Korean soldiers captured by Ukraine under international humanitarian and human rights law, exploring the possible barriers to their repatriation and options for their accommodation in Ukraine or transfer to a neutral third state.
The Third Geneva Convention imposes obligations on detaining powers to repatriate certain categories of prisoners of war (POWs) while hostilities are ongoing, and to release and repatriate all POWs once hostilities have ceased. The Ukrainian authorities have also indicated that they would be open to returning the POWs to North Korea in exchange for Ukrainian POWs detained in Russia prior to the cessation of hostilities.
The blogpost outlines how, in the context of North Korea, the potential repatriation of POWs is nevertheless complicated by the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits the return of individuals to states where they face a credible risk of serious violations of fundamental rights, such as torture, persecution, or other ill-treatment, as well as by the possibility that POWs may not wish to return to North Korea.
The post therefore also considers possible alternatives to the repatriation or exchange of North Korean POWs. It outlines how accommodation in Ukraine, under the framework of the Fourth Geneva Convention and refugee law, may be one option for POWs who do not wish to return to North Korea or where issues of non-refoulement prevent their return. It also explores the possibility of transferring POWs to neutral third countries, such as South Korea, which has indicated that it may be open to receiving North Korean POWs, should they seek resettlement.
Given the nature of the North Korean state, the post stresses that it will be important to account for the risks that POWs may face if returned to North Korea and ensure that any decisions are made and implemented in compliance with Ukraine’s obligations under the Third Geneva Convention and international human rights law.
Read the full analysis on OpinioJuris here
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