Seoul seeks apology after Ukraine reveals transfer of North Korean POWs

SEOUL

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during the 81st United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, on September 23, 2026. (AFP Photo)

South Korea’s presidential office has demanded an apology from Ukraine for denying an agreement to keep the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to Seoul confidential.

The row was ignited by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s disclosure last week that his country had sent two North Korean soldiers to the South, adding they were “not easy to capture alive.”

The intensifying dispute risks complicating Kiev’s efforts to obtain weapons from allies including South Korea to fight off bombardments from Russia.

Hours after Zelensky’s disclosure, South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung criticized the action.

“I do not know why the Ukrainian side broke the agreement and made the matter public, but it is very disappointing,” he wrote on X.

Seoul’s reaction stems from concerns about the families of the repatriated POWs, who could face persecution in North Korea due to the disclosure, Cho Seong-ryoul, a former policy adviser to the presidential national security office, told AFP.

“The families left behind in the North could face severe punishment following news that the two POWs have been repatriated to South Korea,” he said.

“The government is concerned about their fate, as such repercussions are almost certain.”

Zelensky’s aide Dmytro Lytvyn sought to play down the disclosure, saying that the president had only made public the fact that the soldiers were handed to South Korea.

Ukraine is an “open country,” added Lytvyn, saying that it would be unusual to hand over the soldiers in secret.

But Seoul condemned it as a breach of trust.

Seong Ghi-hong, senior presidential secretary for public relations, said in a statement late Sept. 27 that South Korea was “considering additional measures that may be necessary regarding this matter.”

“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,” he said.

“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.”

The South Korean Presidential office demands “an official explanation and apology,” said Seong.
Ukraine captured early last year two North Korean soldiers among Pyongyang’s troops fighting for Moscow.

One of them said he served in a reconnaissance unit and while some North Korean soldiers had been trained to use Russian military equipment, he had not.

The soldier said he was conscripted to the military aged 17 and had been serving since then.

A South Korean lawmaker had previously said the pair wanted to live a “normal life” in the South.

Park Won-gon, a professor at Ewha Womans University, said Kiev’s disclosure may have sparked concern in Seoul that it could feed into Pyongyang’s hostility towards South Korea.

Beyond the ramifications within South Korea, the row also risks complicating Kiev’s requests to the ally for armaments supplies.

South Korea has so far not provided lethal weapons to Ukraine, citing a domestic ban on militarily aiding countries at war.

Nevertheless, it had been considering requests for defensive weapons, especially since North Korea deployed troops to support Russia.