Ukraine has informed South Korea that Zelensky will mention the transfer of North Korean prisoners of war at the United Nations General Assembly, and South Korea hopes to deal with it in a low-key manner

The Ukrainian media "The New Voice of Ukraine" quoted a senior official of the South Korean presidential office on the 27th to reveal that Ukraine did notify Seoul through diplomatic channels before President Zelensky announced that two North Korean prisoners of war had been handed over to South Korea. Zelensky may mention the matter in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly; but South Korea did not know at the time how he would express it.

The New Voice quoted the South Korean official as saying that South Korea learned through diplomatic channels that Zelensky might mention the transfer of North Korean prisoners of war in his speech to the UN General Assembly, but Ukraine did not explain how the speech would mention this arrangement. The official said that Seoul was aware of the possibility of relevant content at the time, but did not know how to express it.

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Ukraine's "Mirror" (ZN.ua) also reported on the 27th that Kiev notified Seoul in advance that Zelensky would mention two North Korean prisoners of war in his speech to the United Nations General Assembly. The report pointed out that South Korea knew in advance that Ukraine might disclose relevant information.

According to South Korean officials quoted by "The New Voice", although Seoul had received advance notice from Ukraine, it still expressed to Kyiv that it hoped that the transfer of the two North Korean prisoners of war could be handled "low-key and quickly". The official also said that the South Korean government believed that the two sides had reached a consensus before and hoped to complete the handover without making it public.

The South Korean presidential office also issued a statement on the 27th, accusing Ukraine of unilaterally disclosing information about the transfer of prisoners of war, and then denying the existence of a confidentiality agreement. It expressed "strong regret" for this and demanded a formal explanation and apology from Ukraine. Yonhap News Agency reported that the South Korean government also stated that further measures would be discussed if necessary.

Ukraine still denies the existence of confidentiality agreement

"Ukrainska Pravda" reported that regarding South Korea's alleged confidentiality arrangements, Ukrainian President Zelensky's communications adviser Dmytro Lytvyn said that the two sides "have no such agreement" and believed that where the prisoners of war were sent should not be concealed.

The Office of the President of Ukraine previously told Yonhap News Agency that Ukraine only disclosed the fact that two North Korean prisoners of war had been transferred to South Korea, and did not disclose the detailed process of the transfer; Ukraine believed that it was unreasonable to keep the entire transfer completely confidential.

Zelensky announced in his speech to the United Nations General Assembly on the 23rd that Ukraine had sent two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea. The two men were captured by the Ukrainian army in Russia's Kusk Oblast in January 2025. At that time, North Korean troops had sent troops to support Russia's operations.