South Korea demands official apology from Ukraine over prisoner scandal
Photo: South Korean President Lee Jae-myung (Getty Images)
The South Korean presidential office is demanding an official explanation and apology from Ukraine. Seoul accuses Kyiv of disclosing the transfer of two North Korean prisoners to South Korea and then falsely denying that a confidentiality agreement existed, according to Reuters.
"The presidential office expresses strong regret over Ukraine's unilateral disclosure and its subsequent false announcement that there had not been a non-disclosure agreement," senior presidential public relations adviser Son Ki-hun said in a statement released on Sunday.
He said the government was considering additional measures on the matter if necessary.
Son said Ukraine had repeatedly discussed the transfer of the prisoners with Seoul through various channels and had asked that the matter be kept secret, arguing that public disclosure could trigger domestic criticism over the allegedly lost opportunity to exchange the soldiers for Ukrainian prisoners.
South Korea agreed to keep the transfer secret for security, diplomatic and humanitarian reasons, including the safety of the prisoners themselves and their families.
According to Son, Ukraine later disclosed the transfer during President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's speech at the UN General Assembly without sufficient prior consultations and subsequently denied that any confidentiality agreement existed.
Son said the denial had seriously undermined trust between the two governments and could harm bilateral relations.
Ukraine's Embassy in Seoul did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Last week, Zelenskyy said at the UN General Assembly that Ukraine had transferred two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea. According to him, they had recently been sent there after being captured while fighting on Russia's side against Ukraine.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung had already said several days earlier that Ukraine had disclosed the transfer in violation of a nondisclosure agreement.
In a post on X, Lee wrote that "it was appropriate in every aspect not to disclose" not to disclose the transfer given the potential consequences and that the parties had agreed to keep it secret.
"I do not know what circumstances led the Ukrainian side to disclose the matter despite the confidentiality agreement, but it is deeply regrettable," he wrote.
Ukraine captured the two North Koreans in Russia's Kursk region back in January 2025. They became the first living prisoners from North Korea since Pyongyang joined the war on Russia's side in 2024.
South Korea had previously declined to confirm the soldiers' arrival, citing concerns for their safety and the safety of relatives who remain in North Korea.
According to an opposition lawmaker in Seoul, South Korea and Ukraine had discussed the possible transfer after both soldiers expressed a desire to go to South Korea.
