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Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha plans to visit South Korea next week, where he will meet with Foreign Minister Cho Hyun to discuss bilateral ties and the issue of North Korean prisoners of war (POWs), according to officials at Seoul's foreign ministry. The meeting is scheduled for June 30 in Seoul.

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Reports from Yonhap News indicate that the upcoming visit is the first by a Ukrainian foreign minister to South Korea since 2015. The two ministers previously met in France in March on the sidelines of a Group of Seven foreign ministers' meeting. The meetings are part of ongoing diplomatic engagement between the two countries, with the agenda expected to include assessments of the war between Ukraine and Russia, as well as potential cooperation on Ukraine's post-war reconstruction.

Key Claims

The discussions are expected to address the situation of two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukrainian forces in early 2025 in Russia's Kursk region, where they were deployed in support of Moscow. Reports suggest the soldiers have expressed a desire 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, providing necessary protection and support in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.

A senior Seoul official said, "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." The official added that progress is expected during Sybiha's visit. Earlier this month, another senior foreign ministry official noted that Seoul and Kyiv had already reached a basic understanding on the POW issue and expressed hope for progress during the visit.