Page 304 - 2018 Defense White Paper

railways and roads. The normalization of the communication lines is expected to not only facilitate

military assurance for inter-Korean exchange and cooperation but also effectively contribute to easing
military tensions and building conf idence.

2. Resolution of the ROK POW Issues

| ROK POWs: Whereabouts, Family Reunions and Repatriation | Following the return of
the late First Lieutenant Cho Chang-ho in 1994, the ROK government enacted a new law on ROK
POWs detained in North Korea titled the “Act on the Repatriation and Treatment of the Republic

of Korea Armed Forces Prisoners of War” while preparing government-wide measures for their
repatriation and support. Through inter-Korean dialogue, the ROK government has continuously
urged North Korea to assist in its effort to determine the number of POWs still alive and repatriate
them, stressing that this is the foremost issue that needs to be addressed for the reconciliation of the

two sides and humanitarian concerns.
Amid a standstill in diplomatic ef forts, 80 ROK POWs escaped North Korea on their own from

1994 to 2018, as detailed in [Chart 7-1]. After 2011, there has been no return of ROK POWs
because of aging and increased surveillance of North Korean authorities to prevent their escape.
As of the end of December 2018, 27 repatriated POWs are still alive.

[ Chart 7–1 ] Repatriated POWs
(As of December 2018, unit: persons)
2011
Year Total 1994 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
- 2018
POWs 80 1 1 4 2 9 6 6 5 14 11 7 4 6 3 1 -

The ROK government is making its utmost effort to ensure the safe repatriation of POWs and

their families who escaped North Korea to a third country. When a POW and his family members
are known to have escaped from North Korea, a government-wide POW task force is formed to
guarantee their personal safety as part of the protections extended to citizens abroad and to ensure

their speedy repatriation. In 2015, the ‘Act on the Repatriation and Treatment of the Republic
of Korea Armed Forces Prisoners of War’ was amended to allow the government to assist in the
repatr iation of the remains of fallen POWs.

302 Chapter 7 Military Assurance for the Establishment of a Peace Regime on the Korean Peninsula