South Korea will offer "necessary protection and support" to North Korean prisoners of war captured in Ukraine who wish to come to the South, Seoul said Wednesday.

One of the two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukraine has expressed his wish to go to South Korea, a news report said Wednesday, in what would be the first known case for a North Korean captive to voice an intent to defect to the South.

North Korea has deployed thousands of troops to support Russian forces fighting in Ukraine, according to Ukrainian, U.S. and South Korean assessments, Pyongyang's first major involvement in a war since the 1950s.

North Korean soldiers in Ukraine held in solitary confinement after being captured last month - Anadolu Ajansı

Russia’s ambassador to North Korea said that its Asian ally is also hosting Russian children orphaned by its war against Ukraine, as the two nations deepen ties.

South Korea said it’s willing to accept any North Korean soldiers captured in Ukraine who express a desire to defect to the South, an idea that emerges amid reports of thousands of North Korean soldiers sustaining casualties in support of Russian troops.

At least around 300 North Korean soldiers have died in Kursk, with about 2,700 being injured. The Ukraine war is currently entangled in diplomacy and politics. While Russia and United States have met in Saudi Arabia,

The South Korean government has announced that it will provide the necessary protection and support to all North Korean soldiers captured by the Ukrainian military, in accordance with the fundamental principle and related laws that guarantee their acceptance if they request to move to S.

South Korea is willing to provide protection and support if North Korean soldiers captured in Ukraine request to come to the South, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday, following reports that a North Korean soldier held by Ukrainian forces expressed his intent to defect.