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Lee says 'no reason to stop' repatriation of pro-North Korean 'prisoners' in South

Published: 24 Nov. 2025, 19:05

President Lee Jae Myung holds an in-flight press briefing aboard Air Force One on Nov. 23 while traveling from South Africa to Turkey after completing his G20 summit schedule. [YONHAP]

President Lee Jae Myung signaled that he may allow the repatriation of "unconverted long-term prisoners" in the South, saying they want to return to their homeland and that there is "little reason to stop them."

Unconverted long-term prisoners are North Korean soldiers and agents who spent decades in South Korean prisons after refusing to renounce their pro-North Korean ideology and loyalty to the Pyongyang regime. Despite their name, all were released from prison years ago.

Lee offered the comments aboard Air Force One on Sunday while traveling from South Africa to Turkey. He said the remaining prisoners are in their 90s and may not have much time left.

“Unconverted long-term prisoners are all over 90 now, and we don’t know whether they will survive another day,” Lee said. “Keeping them here does nothing.”

Lee made the remarks while stressing the need to revive dialogue and exchanges with Pyongyang despite rising tensions. He said North Korea has not responded to any outreach connected to the repatriation issue.

“Even efforts regarding the repatriation of unconverted long-term prisoners draw no reaction from the North,” Lee said. “In this situation we should still try to talk, continue to show goodwill and speak twice if they doubt us after hearing us the first time.”

He also warned that unclear lines along the Military Demarcation Line could escalate routine disputes into armed conflict.

"The two Koreas should at least talk to clarify boundaries to avoid accidental clashes," he said.

A North Korean flag flutters at the propaganda village of Gijungdong in North Korea, in this picture taken near the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea on July 19, 2022. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

A Ministry of Unification official said on Oct. 16 that Ahn Hak-sop, a 95-year-old unconverted long-term prisoner, asked the government to help him return to North Korea through a third country such as Russia or China.

“The government seeks to pursue the repatriation of unconverted long-term prisoners on humanitarian grounds,” the official said. "Seoul must confirm Pyongyang’s position first."

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young echoed that view at a National Assembly audit on Oct. 14.

He said the government’s willingness to send back unconverted long-term prisoners if conditions allow “has not changed.”

Ahn, born in 1930, fought as a North Korean soldier during the Korean War (1950-1953). South Korean forces captured him in April 1953. He served 42 years in prison before being released under a Liberation Day amnesty in 1995.

The South Korean government has identified six unconverted long-term prisoners, including Ahn, and all of them have requested repatriation. Officials hope the issue could become an opening for dialogue with the North, but Pyongyang has not responded.

South Korea repatriated unconverted long-term prisoners twice in the past.

In March 1993, during the Kim Young-sam administration, Ri In-mo, a former North Korean war correspondent, returned to the North through Panmunjom.

Panmunjom is the truce village inside the Demilitarized Zone where North and South Korea hold military talks and conduct inter-Korean exchanges.

In 2000, during the Kim Dae-jung administration, 63 prisoners traveled to North Korea via Panmunjom following the June 15 summit between Kim and late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY YOON SUNG-MIN, OH HYUN-SEOK [[email protected]]