Beyond the Gulag: Why saving two North Korean POWs targets the heart of Pyongyang’s system of erasure

Jan. 31 (UPI) — For decades, the international community’s approach to North Korea has been a monolithic pursuit of denuclearization.

While the West has largely fixated on satellite images of nuclear test sites, a more fundamental engine of the Kim Jong-un regime has remained unchallenged: A domestic system of terror that differs fundamentally from historical systems such as the Soviet Gulag.

Today, this system faces an unexpected challenge on the battlefields of Ukraine. The fate of two captured North Korean soldiers, Lee Chol-nam and Baek Kwang-il, has become a litmus test for global human rights and a strategic opening to disrupt Pyongyang’s tyranny.

The nuclear myth: A shield of twisted pride

In a recent interview, Jang Seyul, the head of the Korean Unification Solidarity (KUS), provided a sobering assessment that challenges the conventional wisdom of Washington and Seoul.

Jang, who escaped North Korea in 2007, now leads the KUS in its mission to bridge the information gap by disseminating outside news into the North and advocating for the rights of the displaced.

He argues that for the North Korean people, the nuclear program is a psychological asset as much as a military one.

Through relentless state indoctrination, the regime has branded its arsenal as a “sacred sword” for survival, convincing the population it is the only defense against foreign invasion.

“To the average North Korean, the bomb is tied to national pride and personal survival,” Jang explains. “When nuclear possession is framed as the only barrier to colonization, expecting the regime to abandon it through sanctions alone becomes a geopolitical impossibility.”

A system more brutal than history: The machinery of erasure

If nuclear weapons are the regime’s external shield, its political prison camp system is its internal sword.

However, the North Korean system differs from its historical predecessors not in scale alone, but in purpose. While the Soviet Gulag system was designed primarily to punish and exploit, North Korea’s system aims for total erasure.

Estimates suggest between 130,000 and 200,000 people are held in these camps — not for criminal acts, but for perceived political disloyalty or exposure to outside information.

Once designated a political offender, an individual is effectively removed from society. Confined to zones of total isolation, their legal identity and social existence are systematically extinguished.

For Jang, this is a living tragedy: According to his testimony, all of his siblings — his elder sister, younger brother, and younger sister — disappeared into these camps after his own escape. This total erasure functions as the core mechanism enforcing submission across a population of 25 million.

The Ukraine POWs: A high-stakes legal limbo

The reach of this terror has now met the international legal system in Ukraine. Captured soldiers Lee Chol-nam and Baek Kwang-il have stated their desire to resettle in South Korea, expressing a clear intention not to return to North Korea.

Under the regime’s military code, the mere act of being captured renders them “traitors” destined for execution or lifelong erasure in the camps.

A comprehensive report by the KUS and the Emergency Committee for the Free Repatriation of North Korean Soldiers revealed a dangerous reality.

These men have not yet been formally designated as protected persons under the international principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits forcible repatriation to a country where they face death, torture, or severe persecution.

In the chaos of the Russia-Ukraine war, there is a looming risk that they could be used as “bargaining chips” in prisoner swaps — a death sentence signed by the international community.

Prioritizing liberty: The need for diverse options

While the soldiers hope to reach South Korea, the primary objective must be the absolute guarantee of their freedom, transcending geopolitical boundaries. Given the sensitivity of inter-Korean relations, the international community must broaden its scope.

The United States and other democratic nations should cooperate to provide diverse resettlement options, including the United States or other third countries.

Providing a “third path” secures these lives while alleviating the political burden on involved parties, making a successful extraction more feasible.

A Strategic pivot: Breaking the spell of fear

The successful resettlement of Lee and Baek — regardless of the specific country — would strike at the regime’s psychological foundation.

The strategy for the international community is clear:

Immediate international Intervention: The UN Refugee Agency and the International Committee of the Red Cross must conduct immediate Refugee Status Determinations to prevent Lee and Baek from being traded back to North Korea or Russia.Multilateral cooperation for resettlement: The United States and its allies should lead a coalition to offer asylum, ensuring a secure path to freedom independent of the volatile situation on the Korean Peninsula.The information breach: If the North Korean military and the general public learn that their comrades chose freedom and were protected by the international community, the fear-based loyalty sustaining the regime will begin to crumble.

Conclusion: Saving lives to shatter a system

The United States and its allies must realize that while the nuclear program is the regime’s shield, the system of internal suppression is its lifeblood.

By championing the cause of Lee Chol-nam and Baek Kwang-il, the world executes a strategic strike against the heart of the world’s most repressive dictatorship. To ignore their plea for freedom is to validate the Kim regime’s power to erase humanity.

Securing a future for these two young men in a free society — wherever that may be — is the first step toward the eventual liberation of an entire nation.