South Korea demands apology from Ukraine over Zelensky's remarks on North Korean POWs
Seoul says Zelensky broke a confidentiality pact by revealing the transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers at the UN.
A fresh diplomatic row has broken out between South Korea and Ukraine. During the Russia-Ukraine war, two North Korean soldiers who had come to fight alongside Russian forces were captured alive by the Ukrainian army. The two prisoners of war were later handed over to South Korea. Both countries had a confidentiality agreement to keep this highly sensitive matter secret, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly disclosed it at the United Nations General Assembly.
South Korea's presidential office reacted sharply to Ukraine's unilateral disclosure, calling it a direct violation of the agreement. South Korea has demanded an official clarification and apology from Ukraine.
Seong Ghi-hong, senior secretary for public relations at South Korea's presidential office, issued an official statement on the matter on Sunday. He said in clear terms, "Ukraine unilaterally disclosed the information by breaking the mutually agreed confidentiality pact, and then falsely claimed that no such agreement existed. Our office deeply regrets this." South Korea has termed the entire episode a betrayal of diplomatic trust and has warned it could take stronger steps if necessary.
According to South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and his administration, the transfer of the soldiers was kept secret for reasons of international law and humanitarian considerations. South Korea claims it was the Ukrainian government that initially sought to keep the matter confidential, since there could have been internal criticism within Ukraine that it had missed an opportunity to use the North Korean prisoners of war for a swap involving Ukrainian soldiers.
South Korea also says the main purpose of the secrecy was to prevent any serious threat to the lives of the prisoners of war and their families living in North Korea. Despite this, Ukrainian media have been suggesting that no such agreement existed, which South Korea has strongly objected to. Seong directly accused Ukraine of politicising sensitive security and diplomatic issues.
Speaking at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 23, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had publicly referred to the transfer. Zelensky said, "We recently sent two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea. Capturing them alive was not easy at all. When one soldier realised he was about to be captured, he tried to kill himself. But fortunately he was saved." Zelensky cited the incident to illustrate the extent to which North Korean citizens and soldiers are brainwashed from childhood.
As background to the episode, the two North Korean soldiers were captured by Ukrainian forces in early 2025 during fighting in Russia's Kursk region. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had deployed thousands of soldiers there to reinforce a weak flank of the Russian army and support Russia's war effort. North Korean forces suffered heavy losses during the fighting, and Zelensky also alleged in his speech that Kim Jong Un was using his soldiers like "currency" in exchange for missile and drone technology.
