South Korea demanded an official apology from Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly said that Kyiv had transferred to Seoul two North Korean prisoners of war – information that, according to South Korean authorities, should have remained secret.
Zelensky stated last week, in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly, that Ukraine had recently sent the two men to South Korea, after capturing them on a battlefield of the war between Ukraine and Russia in early 2025. They would be among thousands of North Korean soldiers redeployed to support the Russian offensive.
The South Korean president, Lee Jae Myung, accused Ukraine of violating a confidentiality agreement about the operation. Kyiv denied that it had signed such an understanding.
On Sunday night (27), Seong Ghi-hong, Lee’s senior presidential adviser for communications, expressed “strong regret” and demanded formal apologies and explanations. On Monday, the 28th, the South Korean Foreign Ministry summoned the Ukrainian ambassador in Seoul, Andrii Vieshkin, to protest against what it called “unilateral disclosure” of the case and against the “false” denial that there was an agreement to keep the matter secret. According to the ministry, the ambassador said he would take Seoul’s position to his government. The Ukrainian embassy did not respond to requests for comment.
Seong said that the “false” denial of the agreement “seriously undermines trust” between the two governments and could cause “significant damage” to bilateral relations. He said the secrecy was discussed because Seoul feared for the safety of the prisoners and of their families in North Korea, while Kyiv was concerned about potential internal criticism for giving up the possibility of exchanging them for Ukrainians detained in Russia.
Still in Ukraine, the two soldiers gave interviews saying that they wished to settle in South Korea. Seoul had been asking that Ukraine not return them to North Korea, where they could face persecution. South Korean law regards the North as part of its territory and provides asylum and support to defectors.
More than 34,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea since the end of the Korean War (1950-53), especially in the last three decades. The majority are civilians, and desertions by soldiers are uncommon.
In Zelensky’s UN address, he did not detail the transfer, but reported that one of the prisoners had attempted to kill himself upon realizing that he would be captured. Experts consulted by the Associated Press assess that Zelensky may have exposed the episode to highlight the risks of North Korean involvement in the war and, thus, seek to broaden Western support. The South Korean government, meanwhile, feared that the news would provoke a Pyongyang response and hinder attempts to resume diplomacy between North Korea and the United States.
