South Korea's inconsistent "pragmatic diplomacy" aids Ukraine with withdrawal of embassy staff

[Seoul Current Affairs] The Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo reported that the government plans to allocate a total of $100 million (approximately 16 billion yen) in aid to Ukraine in the 2027 budget, citing Rep. Song Seok-jun (People's Power), who serves as the chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee in the National Assembly. The South Korean government is reacting to Ukraine's announcement that North Korean prisoners of war will be transferred to South Korea, and is withdrawing its embassy staff and demanding an apology. The response has been inconsistent.

South Korea to withdraw some staff from embassy in Ukraine over announcement of transfer of North Korean prisoners of war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced the transfer to South Korea in his September general debate speech at the United Nations General Assembly. The South Korean government reacted fiercely, saying the incident had "broken the agreement to keep it private," and in October recalled its ambassador to Ukraine and withdrew about half of its embassy staff.

On the other hand, according to the same newspaper dated 10th, South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has included in its budget for next year an increase from this year, including contributions of $50 million (approximately 8 billion yen) to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) trust fund and $20 million (approximately 3 billion yen) for humanitarian aid. A ministry official declined to confirm, but said, ``As a responsible member of the international community, we will continue to maintain our principled position regarding assistance to Ukraine.''