Acting Ambassador to Ukraine: “We haven’t even discussed when the repatriation of North Korean prisoners will be made public.”

The Embassy of Ukraine in Ukraine announced on the 18th (local time) that while the South Korean and Ukrainian governments were discussing the repatriation of North Korean prisoners of war, there was a consensus that it should not be disclosed to the outside world for as long as possible.

Ji-wan Yoon, acting ambassador (counselor) at the Embassy in Ukraine, said at the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee's audit of government affairs held at the Embassy in Poland that day, "We never discussed when it would be made public, and there were many opinions that it would be good for it to remain private for as long as possible."

Acting Ambassador Yoon said that the embassy did not know in advance that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was disclosing the repatriation of North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly on the 23rd of last month, and that Ukraine has not yet provided a specific explanation as to the reason for the disclosure.

Regarding President Zelensky's disclosure of the prisoner repatriation, he said, "There are many critical voices in Ukraine as well, including criticism that there was no internal consultation and that the promise to non-disclosure was broken on the spot. There is no further rebuttal from the Ukrainian side. I understand the situation is such that they cannot deny the fact that there was a non-disclosure agreement."

Acting Ambassador Yoon commented on the actions of the Ukrainian authorities, saying, “It seems that it takes a considerable amount of time to adjust and react to the President’s remarks.”

Dmytro Litvin, an aide to President Zelensky, denied the non-disclosure agreement itself, saying, "There was no such (private) agreement. It is not true," three days after the prisoner repatriation was made public. On the 12th, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiha effectively rejected the Korean government's request for an apology, saying, "I think the matter is over."

When it was pointed out that the diplomatic conflict arose because the non-disclosed agreement was not clearly put in writing, Acting Ambassador Yoon responded that "documenting a diplomatic agreement is in fact a treaty," and that it is difficult to disclose specific evidence of the agreement.

Regarding the diplomatic conflict between the two countries, he said, "I think the repatriation of prisoners is a huge achievement for both sides," and "there is a consensus that the relationship between the two countries must be stable and based on trust, and that this issue must be resolved wisely."

After the POW repatriation was made public, the Korean government summoned Park Ki-chang, Ambassador to Ukraine, demanding an apology after Ukraine denied the non-disclosure agreement itself. At today's government inspection of the embassies of Poland, Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus, Ambassador Yoon, Deputy Chief of Staff at the Ukrainian Embassy, ​​attended via video conference as an ambassador's representative. Ambassador Lee Seok-bae to Russia also received thanks via video after the Moscow airport was closed due to a drone attack by the Ukrainian military.