Producer Kim Young Mi, specializing in the coverage of international disputes, opened up about her experience being one of the first reporters to meet two North Korean prisoners of war currently being held in Kyiv, Ukraine.
The two North Korean soldiers were captured by the Ukrainian Army some time in January of 2025. Their capture revealed for the first time since the Russia-Ukraine conflict began that North Korea had in fact deployed troops to assist the Russian side.
Kim Young Mi PD met with these two POWs in October of 2025 and filmed their interviews, airing them through MBC's 'PD Note' earlier this month.
Following the airing of the interviews, Kim Young Mi PD appeared on an MBC radio program to discuss additional behind-the-scenes stories.
Kim PD said, "During the interview, one of them sang me a song. He said it was a song from the South. I didn't know what kind of song it was. I did record it. He said that he would sing it for me as a gift."
She continued, "He was deployed for the Russian cause right around the time when his mandatory military service period was coming to an end. He said it's been 10 years since he went home. He was a high-ranking soldier. Because he was thrust in the front-lines right as he was supposed to complete his service, I think he felt some bitterness about that. He also said that he had a dream that he'd planned to pursue after completing his mandatory service. He wanted to study vocal arts."
When the radio host asked, "Did he sing well?", Kim PD responded, "He was incredible. Usually when we did interviews or filmed, the Ukrainian reps never came in or bothered us. But they came in when they heard the singing. They commented, 'That's a talented fellow'."
Kim Young Mi PD also talked about the Korean food that she prepared by hand and brought to the soldiers.
"At first they didn't eat it. So I said I'd eat some as well, and I took a bite first. And then they started eating. When I told them that they should eat the rest later, more comfortably after we were done, they seemed happy," the PD described.
Do both soldiers wish to defect to the South?
Kim PD stated, "The older solider is determined to defect. He has continuously expressed his wishes to defect since last year, but there has been no progress in the repatriation talks. The younger one was initially still undecided. But somewhere in the middle of our filming, he said that he had decided he would defect too."
According to Kim PD, the two soldiers also revealed, "The soldiers asked me if Yoon Suk Yeol was still president. So then I asked them how they knew that presidents change. They said that when the South Korean president changes, the official battle cries are also changed out. They say stuff like, 'Tear Yoon Suk Yeol apart!'."
Meanwhile, president Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has expressed openness to the possibility of repatriation to the South for the two North Korean POWs in official statements. However, Zelensky's statements thus far have not led to any concrete negotiations. Some political analysts are predicting that Zelensky is looking to use the POWs to demand direct funding or military resources from the South Korean's government.
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