North Korea01 October, 20263 min read
South Korea Demands Ukraine Apology After Zelenskyy Reveals North Korean POW Transfer
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South Korea demands apology from Ukraine for disclosing North Korean POW transfer. Kyiv breached confidentiality agreement on POW transfers, Seoul says.
Seoul demands apology
South Korea demanded an apology from Ukraine after Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly revealed that Ukraine had handed over two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea, with Seoul accusing Kyiv of breaking an agreement to keep the matter secret. Lee Jae Myung threatened “If you continue to refuse to acknowledge the facts and apologize publicly, we will take further action,” and the South Korean presidential office said it was reviewing additional measures if necessary. Seong Ghi-hong said the presidential office expressed “strong regret” over Ukraine’s unilateral disclosure and its subsequent false claim that there had been no confidentiality agreement.
Ukraine denied that any confidentiality agreement existed and called the dispute a “diplomatic misunderstanding,” while Zelenskyy said last week before the UN General Assembly that Ukraine had transferred two North Korean soldiers to South Korea after they were captured fighting for Russia. The dispute centered on the timing of Zelenskyy’s UN speech on September 23, when he reported the handover of the two North Korean POWs to South Korea.
Confidentiality dispute
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service told the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee that “From the earliest stages of dialogue, the Ukrainian side proactively requested the maintenance of strict confidentiality,” and it said Seoul and Kyiv discussed the transfer based on that shared understanding. The NIS also said “Whether the two heads of state reached an agreement remains unknown, but private consultations were held through various channels,” including a phone call between foreign ministers and talks between the Korean Embassy in Kyiv and the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Yoo Yeong-ha and Youn Kun-young, the committee vice chairpersons, quoted the NIS as saying Ukraine made a preemptive request to keep the handover confidential due to the potential impact of POW exchanges with Russia and repercussions involving prisoners from other countries.
Ukraine’s position, as described in the reporting, emphasized that it had only stated the fact of the transfer, and Dmytro Lytvyn said it would have been strange to hand them over in secret. Seong Ghi-hong said Ukraine later revealed the transfer during Zelensky’s address at the UN General Assembly “without sufficient prior consultation” and then denied the existence of any confidentiality agreement.
What comes next
South Korea said the issue of repatriating North Korean POWs to South Korea is highly sensitive and tied to “security, diplomacy, national defense and human rights,” and it framed the disclosure as something that could have major repercussions for the Korean Peninsula.
Seong Ghi-hong said Seoul had agreed to keep the matter private, taking into account “the safety of the prisoners and their families, as well as diplomatic and security considerations,” and proceeded with the repatriation process.
The reporting also said the transfer followed Zelenskyy’s statement that the two men were captured while fighting for Russia in the war against Ukraine, and it placed their capture in Russia’s Kursk region in January 2025.
The NIS said it pegged the chances of a North Korea-US summit at 50% and predicted it would probably take place around the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation event in November in Shenzhen, China.
The dispute unfolded as South Korea backed efforts to revive dialogue with North Korea while U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated willingness to engage in talks with Pyongyang, and the controversy threatened to complicate Seoul’s diplomacy with both Kyiv and Pyongyang.