South Korean newspaper, Chosun Ilbo, has obtained about fifty letters sent by South Korean prisoners of war still being held in North Korea. Many of the letters did not make it to their intended recipients because they had died or moved. Most letters were terse and expressed a desire for financial support and contact with their relatives.

The South Korean government estimates that about 500 South Korean POWs are still alive in North Korea. Between 1994 and 2011 about 80 were able to escape back to the South. The government announced that there have been no more prisoner of war escapees reaching South Korea since 2011.

Source: Chosun Ilbo