Ukraine denies breaking deal with South Korea over captured North Korean soldiers
Lee Jae Myung, President of South Korea (photo: Getty Images)
Kyiv did not commit to withholding information about the transfer of captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea, according to a source in the Presidential Office.
"Ukraine did not promise to keep this secret, and we never conceal information when it concerns prisoners. This is a sensitive issue because Ukrainians have the right to know what is happening with matters involving prisoners," the source told the outlet.
According to the source, South Korea was not promised that the matter would be kept secret, and Ukraine did not disclose any significant details of the process.
"Although there is a lot of interesting information there, including about them," the source said.
Why the dispute arose
The dispute between Kyiv and Seoul began after South Korean President Lee Jae Myung publicly accused Ukraine of violating a confidentiality agreement.
In his view, Kyiv had no right to disclose the transfer of the two prisoners of war.
According to Lee Jae Myung, the sides had agreed in advance not to tell anyone about the move because of the risk of diplomatic complications and threats to the safety of the prisoners' families who remained in North Korea.
The South Korean president called the disclosure "cruel and irresponsible."
In response to a request from Yonhap, the Ukrainian side explained that it had publicly disclosed only the fact of the transfer, without providing any details of the process.
In their view, keeping absolutely everything secret would have seemed strange.
On September 23, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced from the podium of the UN General Assembly that Ukraine had transferred two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea.
According to him, capturing North Korean soldiers alive is extremely difficult. One of them attempted suicide when he realized that he would be taken prisoner.
