South Korea demands apology from Ukraine for revealing transfer of North Korean prisoners

Trust is shaken between South Korea and Ukraine. The South Korean presidency demanded Sunday evening an apology from kyiv for having broken the secret on the transfer to Seoul of two North Korean prisoners of war, captured by the Ukrainians during the conflict against Russia.

kyiv did not see it as a secret

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed this information to the UN on Thursday, explaining that it had “not been easy to capture them alive”. His South Korean counterpart, Lee Jae Myung, immediately deplored the fact that kyiv had broken the confidentiality agreement on this subject.

Dmytro Lytvyn, advisor to Volodymyr Zelensky, replied that Ukraine was “an open country” and said it would have been strange to hand over these soldiers secretly.

“That the Ukrainian side violated the confidentiality agreement between the two countries and disclosed [the information] unilaterally constitutes in itself a very serious fact,” Seong Ghi-hong, South Korean presidential secretary for public relations, nevertheless affirmed on Sunday. He added that “the false statement by the Ukrainian presidential press service that there was no confidentiality agreement […] seriously undermines trust between the two governments and seriously undermines friendly relations between the two countries.”

The South Korean presidency therefore solemnly demands “an official explanation and apology,” continued Seong Ghi-hong, saying that the presidency was weighing “additional measures that may be necessary” but without further details.

Soldiers wanting to live in South Korea

The two North Korean soldiers were taken prisoner by Ukraine in January 2025 after a military deployment by Pyongyang in support of its Russian ally. In a letter addressed to an NGO in Seoul, they expressed their desire for a “normal life” in South Korea.

Our file on the War in Ukraine

South or North, all Koreans are considered full citizens of South Korea under the Constitution. Seoul officials confirmed that this would also apply to any North Korean soldiers captured during Ukraine's war with Russia.