North Korean prisoner dispute: Ukraine moves to repair ties with South Korea
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha (photo: facebook.com/andrij.sybiha)
Ukraine expects to resolve its dispute with South Korea over the transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers in the near future. Seoul remains an important partner for Kyiv, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said while speaking to reporters.
Responding to a question about the situation with Seoul, the foreign minister avoided using the word "incident."
"I would not like to call it an incident. Let's put it this way: it is a diplomatic misunderstanding," Sybiha said.
According to him, he has personally been in contact with the South Korean foreign minister every day in recent days. Sybiha did not separately address the summoning of the Ukrainian diplomat to the South Korean Foreign Ministry.
The minister stressed that Kyiv is interested in resolving the situation quickly and continuing cooperation with Seoul.
"I very much want this situation to be resolved in the short term, and we are working on it. South Korea is an important country for us. And I very much hope for momentum, continued cooperation, and concrete results that we are indeed achieving with them," Sybiha said.
The dispute erupted after Volodymyr Zelenskyy's speech at the UN General Assembly on September 23. The president said that Ukraine had transferred to South Korea two North Korean soldiers who were captured in Russia's Kursk region in January 2025.
Seoul had expected the transfer to remain secret. President Lee Jae Myung accused Ukraine of disclosing the information and stressed that confidentiality was intended to protect the soldiers themselves and their families, who remain in North Korea. The Ukrainian Presidential Office, however, said that no non-disclosure agreement existed.
On September 28, the South Korean Foreign Ministry summoned Ukrainian diplomat Andrii Vieshkin, the acting ambassador. First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo said that Kyiv's denial of the agreement undermined mutual trust and demanded an official explanation and apology from Ukraine.
