Seoul summons Ukraine envoy, demands apology after Zelenskyy reveals North Korean POW transfer

Seoul called for an official apology from Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed, what it says was a secret transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea.Zelenskyy revealed to the UN General Assembly last week that the soldiers were captured on a battlefield between Russia and Ukraine in early 2025, and that Ukraine had delivered them to South Korea. Thousands of North Korean soldiers, including the two, have been dispatched to aid Russia in its conflict with Ukraine.Lee Jae Myung, the president of South Korea, immediately accused Ukraine of breaking a nondisclosure agreement over the transfer. Ukraine denies entering into such an agreement.Seong Ghi-hong, Lee's senior presidential public relations advisor, voiced "strong regret" at Ukraine's recent actions late on Sunday and called for an official apology and justification.Andrii Vieshkin, the ambassador of Ukraine to Seoul, was summoned by the South Korean Foreign Ministry on Monday to protest what it called Kyiv's "unilateral disclosure" of the inmates' transfer, and its false denial that the two nations had agreed to keep the matter quiet.According to a statement from the ministry, Vieshkin promised to communicate Seoul's stance to his administration. The Ukrainian Embassy in Seoul did not respond to repeated demands for comment.Seong said that Ukraine’s “false” denial of the nondisclosure agreement was “an act that seriously undermines trust between the two governments and causes significant damage to friendly relations between the two countries.”According to Seong, the arrangement was achieved because Kyiv was afraid about potential political backlash for losing the chance to trade them for Ukrainian troops detained in Russia, while Seoul was anxious about the safety of the North Korean soldiers, and their families in the North.POWs from North Korea desired to relocate to South Korea.The two troops stated in interviews with the media that they intended to relocate to South Korea while they were still in Ukraine.Seoul has urged Ukraine to refrain from returning them to North Korea, where they may be persecuted. The South has a policy of welcoming and providing financial help to North Korean defectors, and it officially views the North as part of its territory.Since the end of the 1950–53 Korean war, over 34,000 North Koreans have escaped to South Korea, primarily in the previous three decades. The majority were female citizens from the impoverished northern regions of the North. Soldiers seldom defect.Zelenskyy stated in his statement to the United Nations that "one of them attempted suicide, when he knew he was going to be captured", and was taken aback by that. He was spared death by fate. In the North, individuals are raised in this manner.According to some observers, Zelenskyy probably chose to highlight the threat posed by North Korea's involvement in the conflict in order to secure greater support from the West.The liberal administration of South Korea, meantime, was concerned that the transfer's announcement may incite a furious reaction from the North, and undermine attempts to restore diplomatic relations between Washington and Pyongyang.South Korea has declined to provide Ukraine with direct military assistance.Since Russia's invasion in 2022, South Korea, a rising arms exporter with a well-equipped, and US-backed military, has joined US-led economic sanctions against Russia, and given humanitarian supplies and other support to Ukraine.However, in keeping with a long-standing policy of not delivering weapons to nations actively involved in combat, Seoul has rejected pleas from Kyiv and NATO to offer direct military help to Ukraine.In April 2025, North Korea and Russia acknowledged that their armed forces had engaged in joint combat to thwart a Ukrainian invasion of Russia's Kursk border area. According to South Korea, the US, and others, North Korea has also given Russia missiles, artillery, and ammunition in exchange for military and economic support.According to South Korea's spy agency, 2,000 of the approximately 15,000 personnel that North Korea supplied were killed last year.Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, has been able to more assertively pursue a nuclear weapons development, and resist pressure from the United States by increasing collaboration with Russia.In an apparent attempt to resume diplomatic relations with Kim, US President Donald Trump reduced a military exercise with South Korea this month. However, North Korea has stated that this action was insufficient to persuade it to resume negotiations.In protest of Kyiv's revelation of the transfer of arrested North Korean troops to South Korea, South Korea's foreign ministry called Ukraine's acting ambassador on Monday, and requested an official apology and explanation.Despite what Seoul claimed was a clear agreement between the two nations to keep the matter confidential, the ministry said it had called in acting ambassador Andrii Vieshkin, and expressed deep regret that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy made the disclosure at the UN General Assembly.According to a statement from the ministry, South Korea also objected over what it deemed a misleading statement made by the Ukrainian presidential office denying the existence of such a confidentiality agreement, and asked Kyiv to take action to stop a repeat."First Vice Minister Park Yoon-joo stressed that the disclosure of a falsehood that there was no confidential agreement seriously undermines trust between the two governments and is an action that can cause problems for friendly ties," added.According to South Korean media, Kyiv stated that the idea to make the move public was understood.You use AI every day. 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