(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Ji-heon and Min Seon-hee = The government decided to recall Ambassador to Ukraine Park Ki-chang to Korea.
The government has demanded an official explanation and apology from Ukraine, which unilaterally disclosed the repatriation of North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea, but as there was no clear change in attitude, the government increased the level of diplomatic response.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the decision to recall Ambassador Park to Korea on the 8th, saying, "We hope that all pending issues between the two countries will be resolved amicably, and to this end, we will continue discussions with Ukraine."
The conflict between the two countries, sparked by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's disclosure of the repatriation of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly on the 23rd of last month (local time), led to intense diplomatic measures such as recalling the South Korean ambassador to Ukraine.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun said during the audit of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee on the 6th that "we also received a message containing an apology" from Ukraine, but that "the level is slightly different from what we think, so we want to take firm action."
It appears that the government has put into action the 'decisive measures' announced at the time.
The government's position is that Ukraine unilaterally violated the agreement to keep the prisoner repatriation confidential.
President Lee Jae-myung directly pointed out on social media on the 24th of last month that it was "very disappointing," and when Ukraine denied the non-disclosure agreement, the Blue House countered with a statement from the Senior Secretary for Public Relations and Communication, calling it "an announcement of false facts."
First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Yun-joo also summoned the Ukrainian Acting Ambassador to Korea Andriy Beshkin on the 28th of last month and expressed regret.
On the 2nd, President Lee also warned that Ukraine would take further action if it refused to admit the facts and make a public apology, saying that Ukraine's denial of the non-disclosed agreement "made the head of state of the other country into a liar."
However, Ukraine's position is that the conflict between the two countries resulted from differences in interpretation of the non-disclosure agreement.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Georgi Tychy said on the 7th (local time), "The reason for the public exchange of criticism between the two countries is the difference in interpretation of the agreement on confidentiality methods."
Disclosing only the fact that North Korean prisoners of war were sent to South Korea, rather than the specific process of agreement or transfer method, was a repetition of the previous position that it was not a violation of the agreement.
Regarding the apology message mentioned by Minister Cho, he responded, "I expressed regret that the situation has reached the stage of exchanging critical remarks."
It is interpreted that he only emphasized the basic position of 'expressing regret' without confirming or denying whether or not he would apologize.
Recently, a war of nerves broke out between the two countries over foreign media reports that petroleum products were transported from Korean ports to Russia.
When an official from the Ukrainian President's Office claimed that Korea helped alleviate Russia's fuel shortage, the Blue House countered on the 7th, saying, "It is untrue and inappropriate."
As the diplomatic conflict between Korea and Ukraine over the repatriation of prisoners reaches the point of full-scale confrontation with the recall of the ambassador, attention is being paid to whether a way out can be found in the future.
Some analysts say that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the recall of Ambassador Park and added that “consultations will continue” to leave open the possibility of a diplomatic solution.
Bringing in one's own ambassador from the other country is considered a representative and powerful means of diplomatic protest, following communication through diplomatic channels, public statement of position, and summoning the other country's ambassador.
The Korean government also has a history of calling ambassadors back to the country during diplomatic conflicts with countries such as Japan and New Zealand.
In July 2008, Japan summoned then-Japanese Ambassador to Japan Kwon Cheol-hyeon to protest Japan's inclusion of Dokdo sovereignty claims in a commentary on teaching guidelines for middle school social studies textbooks.
In April 2001, Ambassador to Japan Choi Sang-ryong was temporarily repatriated due to distortions in Japanese history textbooks, and in January 1998, Ambassador to Japan Kim Tae-ji was temporarily repatriated in response to Japan's unilateral cancellation of the Korea-Japan Fisheries Agreement.
In 1995, there was a case in which Ambassador Lee Dong-ik of New Zealand was summoned to protest the refugee application issue of an embassy employee who forged Korean diplomatic documents.
