Author: GIKorea

If these POWs do in fact defect to South Korea their families back in North Korea will likely face punishment by being sent to labor camps:

The government said Seoul has not changed its position regarding accepting to the nation, North Korean soldiers held captive by the Ukrainian military in the Russia-Ukraine war should they wish to defect to South Korea.

An official at Seoul’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that the North Korean captives are considered prisoners of war, regardless of Pyongyang’s acknowledgement of their deployment.

The official added that in accordance with the 1949 Geneva Conventions, they must not be repatriated against their will to their home country, where they could face persecution.

KBS Global

You can read more at the link.

According to the article the documentary does a good job chronicling the botched rescue operation, but does not offer any reasons why it was so poor to begin with:

Director-producer Min Bae’s documentary film “Reset” primarily traces the emotional journey, over nine years since the tragedy’s outset, of Moon Jong-taek, father of Moon Ji-sung, one of the 250 student victims.

During the painstaking years, Moon emerged as both a fierce advocate and a meticulous documentarian, capturing every thread of the Sewol ferry tragedy in his search for the elusive truth behind its sinking. 

Lost in the enduring sorrows, he built invisible walls around himself. His all-consuming obsession over the long painful years left the rest of his family feeling forgotten.

He and others have focused especially on the rescue operation, examining not only its shortcomings but also the potential for a deliberate failure to act. 

They were also consumed by the crucial question of why students were repeatedly instructed to “stay still,” while some of the crew members, including the captain, rapidly evacuated to the upper decks of the sinking ship and were rescued.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I am not sure what Seoul gets out of forcibly coming out against North Korea’s involvement in the Russian war against Ukraine because we all know the UN will do nothing about it:

South Korea has condemned Pyongyang’s first public admission that its troops fought alongside Russian forces against Ukraine, calling the move a violation of international law. “North Korea taking part in the war against Ukraine is certainly an illegal act that violates the United Nations charter and U.N. Security Council resolutions,” Jeon Ha Gyu, spokesman for the South’s Ministry of National Defense, said at a news briefing Monday.

“Admitting [that it engaged] in the war is admission of a criminal act,” he added. “Our military and the international community strongly condemn this inhumane, illegal act.” (….)

Another South Korean official condemned the loss of North Korean lives in the conflict. “North Korea can never cover the fact that deploying troops is an illegal act that violates international law, and is inhumane, unethical behavior that sacrificed young North Koreans for the governments’ sake,” Ministry of Unification spokesman Koo Byongsam said at a separate briefing. Koo called on Pyongyang to immediately withdraw its forces from Ukraine.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but someone needs to tell Minister Koo that the North Korean troops are not in Ukraine, they have been used to combat Ukrainian troops that invaded into the Russian Kursk region.

I guess we will see if this trip to Korea by Trump Jr. will lead to any breakthroughs in trade negotiations with the U.S.:

Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of US President Donald Trump, arrived in Seoul on Tuesday for a meeting with around 20 business leaders from South Korean conglomerates, industry sources said.

The two-day trip by Trump Jr., his first to South Korea since his father’s inauguration in January, comes at the invitation of Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin.

Per sources, Trump Jr. arrived at Gimpo International Airport, western Seoul, in his private jet at around 6:25 p.m. Tuesday. It had been scheduled to touch down at 4:45 p.m. but there had been a slight delay before the departure.

Wearing a black cap and a long-sleeve shirt, Trump Jr. left the airport without speaking to the dozens of waiting South Korean reporters.

South Korean business circles asked Chung to facilitate Trump Jr.’s visit as a way to establish contact with the Trump administration, according to the sources.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

I tend to agree that it is likely not good for U.S. creditability to try and renegotiate a deal signed by the prior Biden administration:

The Trump administration will face credibility issues if it attempts, following the imposition of a 10% tariff on South Korea, to renegotiate the cost of stationing U.S. troops there, according to policy experts. President Donald Trump proposed a streamlined, “one-stop shopping” deal on defense and trade after a 30-minute call on April 8 with acting South Korean President Han Duck-soo, according to a Truth Social post from Trump that day.

But any attempt to renegotiate the defense spending agreement reached in November is premature until South Korea elects a permanent replacement for former President Yoon Suk Yeol in June, said Hwang Jihwan, a University of Seoul professor of international relations, by phone Friday. Yoon, impeached in December over his failed attempt to impose martial law, was formally removed from office on April 4 by the South Korean Constitutional Court.

Stars and Stripes

You can read more at the link, but I don’t see how the ROK can agree to any significant deal until after the next president is innaugurated in June.

This is the first time that Russia has admitted that North Korean troops have been aiding them in their war against Ukraine:

Russian President Vladimir Putin has thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for the deployment of troops to support its war with Ukraine, pledging that their bilateral friendship, forged on battlefields, will continue to grow in all areas, the Kremlin said Monday.

Putin conveyed his gratitude to Kim for the “active role” played by North Korean soldiers in the fight against Ukraine, his statement updated on the website of his office said, just hours after Pyongyang officially confirmed its troop deployment to Russia.

He praised the solidarity, justice and genuine camaraderie North Korean soldiers had shown, adding that “We highly appreciate this and are sincerely grateful, personally to the Chairman of State Affairs, Comrade Kim Jong-un, as well as the entire leadership and the people” of North Korea.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.