The dispute between South Korea and Ukraine is escalating. President Lee Jae Myung is threatening Kiev with “further measures” if Ukraine does not publicly apologize for announcing a confidential handover of North Korean prisoners of war.
“If they continue to refuse to acknowledge the facts and publicly apologize, we will take further action,” Lee wrote on X on Friday. “As a matter of the reputation of the citizens and the state of the Republic of Korea, we cannot accept this.” Seoul had already summoned the Ukrainian envoy.
In the post, Lee sharpened the tone significantly. Ukraine itself asked for confidentiality and then unilaterally made the handover of the prisoners of war public. When he expressed his regret “with the greatest possible politeness,” Kiev denied an agreement and thus made him a “liar.” When asked for an apology, Ukraine also spoke of an impending military clash between North and South Korea. Lee accused Kiev of trying to provoke war on the Korean peninsula and expressed "serious regret."
The timing of the rift is delicate. Tens of thousands of North Koreans have supported Russia in the war against Ukraine, and more troops are apparently imminent. The close partnership between Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin thus threatens both countries.
Injured for five days in the Kursk Forest
The focus is on two North Korean soldiers who were captured by Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region of Russia in January 2025. At that time, captures of North Koreans were extremely rare. According to reports, injured soldiers apparently blew themselves up with hand grenades to avoid being captured.
One of the two, a 21-year-old with the surname Paek, said he also thought about suicide. However, he lost consciousness and lay on the forest floor with shrapnel in his leg for five days before Ukrainian soldiers found him. He told the Wall Street Journal that he didn't know he was being sent to Russia. The second soldier, a 26-year-old named Ri, had been told he would fight South Korean troops.
The men were flown to South Korea in mid-September. According to a lawmaker briefed on the Intelligence Committee, they are in “generally good health.” According to the South Korean constitution, all North Koreans are considered citizens of the South.
Dispute over an agreement that may never have existed
According to Seoul, the handover should remain confidential. However, on September 23, Zelensky made it public in his speech to the UN General Assembly. Kyiv denies that there was a binding confidentiality agreement. A South Korean lawmaker acknowledged that there was no formal agreement but that diplomats from both sides had agreed to confidentiality.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha tried to de-escalate. In an interview on Thursday with RBC-Ukraine, he spoke of a “diplomatic misunderstanding.” South Korea is “an important country” for Ukraine. He “didn’t want to describe the process as an incident.”
Kyiv wants weapons, Seoul wants stability
There are different security policy interests behind the dispute. According to South Korean intelligence, Zelensky may have made the handover public in order to strengthen South Korean support for arms deliveries to Ukraine. Kiev has long argued that North Korean soldiers gain combat experience on the front, which also becomes dangerous for South Korea. “If North Korea actively participates in a war in Europe, South Korea cannot remain just a distant observer,” said Zelensky adviser Mykhailo Podoljak. Ukraine urgently needs air defense, Patriot interceptor missiles are in short supply.
South Korea is one of the fastest growing arms exporters in the world. The country's four largest defense companies are forecast to generate sales of around $37 billion by 2026. However, South Korea generally does not supply lethal weapons directly to active war zones. Accordingly, Ukraine has so far officially only received helmets, protective vests and medical supplies from South Korea. South Korea still helped indirectly. According to the Washington Post, it delivered up to 500,000 rounds of 155-millimeter ammunition via the USA in 2023, making it at times a larger supplier of ammunition than all European countries combined. In July, Seoul announced an aid package worth more than $100 million for Ukraine.
At the same time, Lee is trying to improve relations with Pyongyang. Most recently, he suggested easing sanctions and working toward a “freeze” of North Korea’s nuclear program. Added to this is the uncertainty about the USA: President Donald Trump has repeatedly considered withdrawing American troops from South Korea.
