South Korea Demands an Apology from Ukraine over North Korean Prisoners of War

The dispute between Ukraine and South Korea over the handover of two North Korean prisoners of war has escalated into a public diplomatic conflict, after South Korean President Lee Jae-myung threatened Kyiv on Friday with further measures unless it acknowledges the confidentiality agreement that Seoul claims existed and apologizes. The soldiers were captured by Ukrainian forces while fighting on Russia's side, and were then transferred to South Korea, a move Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned in his speech at the UN General Assembly on September 23.

According to Seoul, the handover should have been kept confidential for security and humanitarian reasons, while the Ukrainian side denies that any such agreement existed. In his remarks on Friday, the South Korean president treated the Ukrainian position as a challenge to his personal credibility, and specifically objected to Ukrainian statements referring to the risk of a military conflict emerging on the Korean Peninsula. According to Aju Press, the dispute deepened further when Kyrylo Budanov said that North Korea was using battlefield experience gained in Ukraine to develop its own armed forces. Seoul cites the safety of the two soldiers and their family members who remain in North Korea as the reason for the need for confidentiality, and earlier this week it also summoned the chargé d'affaires of Ukraine's diplomatic mission. Despite the tension, the foreign ministers of the two countries remain in contact and are seeking a solution acceptable to both governments. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the matter as a diplomatic misunderstanding. Lee did not specify what possible countermeasures might be taken; according to a South Korean analyst cited by Reuters, these could involve humanitarian, financial or reconstruction aid, though Seoul also values the information Ukraine provides on North Korean military activity.

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