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BackSouth Korean President Lee threatens additional measures against Ukraine over North Korean soldier transfer
South Korean President Lee threatens additional measures against Ukraine over North Korean soldier transfer
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SCMP Economy1 hour agoWorld1 min readChina

South Korean President Lee threatens additional measures against Ukraine over North Korean soldier transfer

lee jae myungukrainenorth korea

Quick Look

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung warned of unspecified additional measures against Ukraine unless Kyiv publicly apologizes for allegedly violating a confidentiality agreement regarding the transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea, which Ukraine announced at the UN General Assembly last month.

AI-generated summary

Why It Matters

South Korea and Ukraine have been in a diplomatic dispute since Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced at the UN General Assembly last month that Ukraine had transferred two North Korean prisoners of war, captured while fighting for Russia, to South Korea.

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President Lee warned of ‘additional measures’ against Kyiv unless it offered a public apology over the episode

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Published: 12:06pm, 2 Oct 2026

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Friday threatened unspecified measures against Ukraine unless Kyiv acknowledged what Seoul says was a confidentiality agreement covering the transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers and apologised.

“If the refusal to acknowledge the facts and issue a public apology continues, we will take additional measures,” Lee said in a social media post.

Lee also expressed “grave regret” over what he described as Ukrainian remarks about an imminent ⁠military clash between North and South Korea, saying they amounted to encouraging war on the Korean peninsula.

Seoul and Kyiv ‌have been locked in a diplomatic dispute since Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced at the United Nations General Assembly last month that Ukraine had transferred two North Korean prisoners ‌of war captured while fighting for Russia to South Korea.

What to Watch

AI outlook — possibilities, not facts

  • South Korea will implement unspecified additional measures against Ukraine if Kyiv does not issue a public apology

    Likely · Within weeks

Open Questions

  • What specific 'additional measures' is South Korea considering?
  • Was there a formal confidentiality agreement between South Korea and Ukraine regarding the prisoner transfer?
  • How did Ukraine obtain the North Korean soldiers?
  • What is North Korea's position on the transfer?

Related Topics

lee jae myung
PeopleLee Jae MyungVolodymyr Zelensky
OrganizationsGovernment of South KoreaGovernment of Ukraine
PlacesSouth KoreaUkraineKorean PeninsulaUnited Nations General Assembly
Topicsukrainenorth koreasouth koreaprisoners of warunited nationsvolodymyr zelensky
This article was originally published by SCMP Economy.

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