South Korea Demands Ukraine Apology Over North Korean Prisoners
The public disclosure threatens security ties between Kyiv and Seoul while raising risks for transferred soldiers.
South Korea demanded an official explanation and apology from Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly revealed the transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers to Seoul. The disclosure sparked a diplomatic dispute between the two governments over whether an agreement existed to keep the operation secret.
The presidential office in Seoul expressed regret over the announcement made during Zelenskyy's address to the United Nations General Assembly. Senior presidential secretary for public relations Seong Ghi-hong said Ukraine broke a confidentiality arrangement and later issued false statements denying that any non-disclosure pact existed.
Ukrainian communications adviser Dmytro Lytvyn responded by denying that Kyiv agreed to conceal the operation. Ukrainian officials noted that Ukraine remains an open country and that concealing the transfer of captured foreign fighters would be unusual.
According to Seoul, Ukrainian authorities had requested secrecy during earlier negotiations. South Korean officials said Ukraine initially feared domestic criticism for sending the soldiers away rather than exchanging them for Ukrainian prisoners held by Russia. South Korea accepted the condition to protect the safety of the soldiers and their families remaining in North Korea.
Ukrainian forces captured the two North Korean soldiers in Russia's Kursk region in early 2025. Both men later asked to go to South Korea, which recognizes North Koreans as citizens under its constitution. The transfer took place through a third country before the public announcement.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said publicizing the matter created diplomatic and national security complications. Lee said keeping the transfer private was necessary because of sensitive inter-Korean relations. The dispute has raised concerns in diplomatic circles about future bilateral cooperation and South Korea's role in postwar reconstruction projects.
The South Korean Foreign Ministry summoned acting Ukrainian Ambassador Andrii Vieshkin, who said he would relay Seoul's protest to Kyiv. South Korean officials said they are reviewing additional diplomatic measures as they await a response from the Ukrainian government.
