Elizabeth Salmond, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the DPRK, has emphasized the need to protect the identities of North Korean prisoners of war repatriated to South Korea, while recalling the risk of retaliation against their families remaining in North Korea.

Ahead of an interactive dialogue at the UN General Assembly, Salmond stated in a report released today that "concerns have been raised over whether international law protection principles are being properly observed as their identities and photographs are widely circulated in the media."

Reiterating international legal standards to protect the safety and privacy of the individuals concerned, Rapporteur Salmond also expressed concern over the possibility of retaliation against the families of the prisoners left behind in North Korea.

She further stressed that "obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law must be complied with in all processes determining the fate of prisoners of North Korean origin."

It was confirmed that two North Korean prisoners of war captured by the Ukrainian military early last year set foot in South Korea last month, approximately one year and eight months after their capture.

The faces of the North Korean prisoners of war repatriated to South Korea have been exposed to the media and elsewhere after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed the fact of their capture.

(Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Kim Na-on | Design by Lee Jung-ju | Produced by SBS Digital News)