Ukraine said it is considering legal protections for asylum seekers as it weighs whether to forcibly repatriate two North Korean prisoners of war captured fighting for Russia, according to a letter sent to a South Korean human rights organization Tuesday.

The principle of non-refoulement “is being taken into account” in the treatment of the captured DPRK soldiers, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s legal support bureau said in a letter to the Emergency Committee for the Free Repatriation of North Korean Soldiers, a copy of which was reviewed by NK News.

Non-refoulmentrefers to the principle prohibiting the forced return of