Seoul demands apology from Ukraine over breach of confidentiality deal on North Korean POWs
South Korea is demanding an official explanation and apology from Ukraine after Kyiv disclosed the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to Seoul, breaking a confidentiality agreement. The dispute risks complicating Ukraine's efforts to secure weapons support from South Korea.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's office has demanded an official explanation and apology from Ukraine, accusing Kyiv of breaching a confidentiality agreement over the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea.
The dispute erupted after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed last week that his country had sent two captured North Korean soldiers to the South, noting they had not been easy to capture alive. Hours later, Lee criticised the move on X, saying he did not understand why Ukraine broke the agreement and made the matter public, calling it very disappointing.
Zelenskyy aide Dmytro Lytvyn attempted to downplay the disclosure, saying the president had merely confirmed that the soldiers had been handed over to South Korea, and that Ukraine, as an open country, would find it unusual to carry out such a transfer in secret.
Seoul nonetheless condemned the disclosure as a breach of trust. Seong Ghi-hong, senior presidential secretary for public relations, said in a statement that South Korea was considering additional measures. He said the breach of the confidentiality agreement was itself a serious matter, but that the Ukrainian presidential press office's denial that any such agreement existed seriously undermined trust and damaged relations between the two governments.
Ukraine captured the two North Korean soldiers early last year among Pyongyang's troops fighting alongside Russian forces. One of them said he had served in a reconnaissance unit and had not been trained to use Russian military equipment, unlike some of his counterparts. He said he had been conscripted at age 17 and had served since. A South Korean lawmaker had previously said the two men wished to live a normal life in South Korea.
Analysts warn that Lee's sharp reaction could inflame tensions with the nuclear-armed North, potentially fuelling further hostility toward Seoul. One expert noted that North Korea has been using its deployed soldiers to build a heroic propaganda narrative, and that publicising the prisoners' return could deepen that hostility.
The row also threatens to complicate Kyiv's requests for weapons from South Korea, which has so far withheld lethal arms from Ukraine due to a domestic ban on military aid to warring nations, though it had been weighing requests for defensive equipment.
