South Korea Demands Apology From Ukraine Over Disclosure of North Korean POW Transfer
South Korea's presidential office has demanded an official apology from Ukraine after Kyiv publicly disclosed the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to Seoul, saying the disclosure broke a confidentiality agreement between the two governments.
The dispute became public after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the United Nations that his country had sent two North Korean soldiers to South Korea, describing them as "not easy to capture alive".
Hours later, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on X that he did not know why the Ukrainian side had broken the agreement and made the matter public, adding that it was "very disappointing".
In response, Dmytro Lytvyn, an aide to Mr Zelenskyy, told journalists that Ukraine was "an open country" and that it would have been strange to hand over the soldiers in secret.
"From the entire story -- which is long and detailed -- we reported only the fact itself, that they were sent to the Republic of Korea," he said.
Seoul rejected that account. In a statement late on Sunday, Seong Ghi-hong, senior presidential secretary for public relations, said: "It is in itself a very serious matter that the Ukrainian side violated the confidentiality agreement between the two countries and made the disclosure unilaterally."
"But the Ukrainian presidential press office's false statement that there had been no confidentiality agreement... seriously undermines trust between the two governments and gravely damages friendly relations between the two countries," he said.
Mr Seong said the presidential office was demanding "an official explanation and apology". He added that Seoul was "considering additional measures that may be necessary regarding this matter", without specifying what these might be.
The two North Korean soldiers were captured by Ukrainian forces early last year, among the North Korean troops Pyongyang has sent to fight alongside Russian forces. That deployment has drawn international concern and has been widely condemned by Ukraine's allies.
A South Korean lawmaker had earlier said the pair wished to live a "normal life" in the South.
Under South Korea's constitution, all Koreans, including those living in the North, are considered citizens of the Republic of Korea. Officials in Seoul have said this principle would apply to any North Korean troops captured in Ukraine, which forms the legal basis for Seoul's role in the case.
The exchange marks an unusual public rift between two governments that have broadly aligned in opposing Russia's war in Ukraine. South Korea has provided humanitarian and financial assistance to Kyiv but has not supplied weapons, citing a long-standing policy of not arming parties to active conflicts.
It is not clear how the dispute will affect cooperation between the two governments on the treatment of any further North Korean soldiers captured by Ukrainian forces.
