South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha over the phone on Monday and discussed the handling of two North Korean prisoners of war, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.
Cho told Sybiha that, according to the South Korean Constitution, the captured troops are citizens of the nation and their defection will be accepted if they show such intent.
North Korea reportedly dispatched over 11,000 troops to Russia in October of last year and more between January and February of this year. In January, Ukrainian forces captured two North Korean soldiers while fighting in the Kursk region.