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Ex-ICC president says now is right time to refer Kim Jong-un to justice for aiding Putin's aggression

Published: 22 Oct. 2025, 14:04

Former International Criminal Court President Song Sang-hyun delivers opening remarks at the launch ceremony of the 2024 International Moot Pre-Trial on Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea's Political Prison Camp at the Press Center in central Seoul on Nov. 25, 2024. [YONHAP]

Now is the right time to refer North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for aiding Russian President Vladimir Putin's aggression against Ukraine, a former ICC president said on Wednesday.

Song Sang-hyun, the former president of the Hague-based ICC, made the remarks in a copy of his speech to the 2025 Seoul World Convention on North Korean Human Rights, which was released in advance.

"If the main culprit in the war with Ukraine is Russia, the North Korean regime, responsible for supplying weapons and ammunition, would be no less than an accessory or contributor," Song said. "Now is the right time to refer Kim Jong-un to the ICC."

He said Kim's deployment of troops to support Russia in the war constitutes an act serious enough to make him a joint principal offender alongside Putin.

In March 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over suspected war crimes connected to Russia's war against Ukraine.

Since October last year, North Korea has deployed about 15,000 troops to Russia in support of its war with Ukraine, as well as ammunition and other weapons.

The best way to refer Kim to the ICC for prosecution would be by Ukraine, the war victim, but the chief ICC prosecutor could also act on his own initiative, the former ICC president said.

He also called on Korea to secure the ICC prosecution post next, in case the incumbent does not pursue Kim's prosecution during the current term, noting it's Asia's turn to take the position.

Yonhap