South Korea Warns Ukraine Over Secret North Korean POW Transfer Dispute
- South Korean President Lee Jae Myung warned of unspecified additional actions against Ukraine unless Kyiv acknowledges a confidentiality agreement concerning the transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers...
- If the refusal to acknowledge the facts and issue a public apology continues, Seoul will take additional measures, President Lee wrote on X.
- Seoul accused Kyiv of breaching an agreement to keep the transfer confidential to protect the soldiers and prevent diplomatic complications.
President Lee Issues Ultimatum Over Confidentiality Breach
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung warned of unspecified additional actions against Ukraine unless Kyiv acknowledges a confidentiality agreement concerning the transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers and issues a public apology, according to reports.
If the refusal to acknowledge the facts and issue a public apology continues, Seoul will take additional measures, President Lee wrote on X. Lee also voiced grave regret over Ukrainian remarks suggesting an imminent military confrontation between North and South Korea, stating that such comments encouraged conflict on the Korean Peninsula. The two men had been captured by Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region in January 2025 after being deployed alongside Russian troops, and they had expressed a desire to come to Seoul rather than return to North Korea.
Dispute Over Secret Deal Erupts Between Seoul and Kyiv
Seoul accused Kyiv of breaching an agreement to keep the transfer confidential to protect the soldiers and prevent diplomatic complications. Seong Ghi-hong, senior presidential secretary for public relations, stated that Ukraine had repeatedly discussed the transfer and requested secrecy due to concerns about prisoner exchanges and the safety of the soldiers and their families. Ukrainian officials rejected that account. Dmytro Lytvyn, a communications adviser to Zelenskyy, denied that any such agreement existed, writing that concealing where prisoners were being sent would itself have been wrong. Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha sought to mend ties during a press event, telling journalists that he would not call the situation an incident, but rather a diplomatic misunderstanding.
Political Fallout on the Korean Peninsula
The confrontation arrives at a sensitive juncture for the administration of President Lee, which has attempted to ease cross-border tensions with North Korea while managing domestic political fallout from a recent landmine incident in the Demilitarized Zone. Senior South Korean officials indicated they had received advance warning that Zelenskyy would mention the prisoners during his United Nations address, though Kyiv did not specify how he would refer to them. Despite that limited notice, Seoul insisted that the physical transfer itself should remain undisclosed. With the two governments deadlocked over whether a secrecy pact was ever struck, South Korea maintains its demand for an official apology while Ukrainian authorities attempt to repair bilateral channels.
Recently, we sent two North Korean prisoners of war to the Republic of Korea.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy