Connexion
Ukraine’s disclosure of secret North Korean POW transfer sparks South Korea’s demand for an apology
Seoul called on Kyiv to explain and apologize for making public the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war, saying Ukraine had broken an agreement to keep the move private and later denied that such an agreement existed, Reuters reported on 27 September. Seoul also said it was reviewing additional measures if necessary.
The dispute puts new pressure on ties between Ukraine and South Korea as Seoul supports Kyiv while also dealing with growing military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.
Seong Ghi-hong, senior presidential secretary for public relations, said Seoul "expresses strong regret over Ukraine's unilateral disclosure and its subsequent false announcement that there had not been a nondisclosure agreement," according to the Korea Herald.
Seoul said Ukraine had requested that the transfer remain confidential, citing fears of a backlash at home for passing up a chance to trade the two soldiers for Ukrainian prisoners held by Russia, though a presidential official called the handover humanitarian, not a prisoner exchange, the Korea JoongAng Daily reported. Seoul went along with the request to protect the soldiers and their families and for diplomatic and security reasons, Seong said, according to the Korea Herald.
Ukraine had denied that the two countries had agreed to keep the transfer private. Dmytro Lytvyn, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, replied to a critic on Facebook that "there was no agreement to remain silent" and that hiding the prisoners' destination "would also be wrong," the Korea JoongAng Daily reported.
How the dispute unfolded
Zelenskyy announced the transfer on 23 September during a speech at the UN General Assembly. He said Ukraine had recently sent two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea. He also described one soldier's attempt to kill himself after realizing he would be captured and accused North Korean leader Kim Jong Un of using his soldiers "like currency," pointing to Pyongyang's improved ballistic missiles and drone capabilities as what it gets in return.
The next day, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said the transfer should not have been disclosed and that the two sides had agreed to keep it private. A South Korean presidential official said Ukraine had told Seoul in advance that Zelenskyy might mention the transfer and Seoul had asked that the soldiers' destination not be disclosed, though it was unclear how he would phrase it, the Korea JoongAng Daily reported.
Who the two soldiers are
The two soldiers—Ri, 26, a reconnaissance sniper, and Baek, 21, a rifleman—were captured by Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk Oblast in January 2025, according to their interview with South Korea's Chosun Ilbo. Both had served in North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau and later asked to go to South Korea in media interviews and handwritten letters to defector groups.
The two countries' foreign ministers discussed the prisoners' status in March and June, reaching a shared understanding that the case should be resolved under international law and humanitarian principles, according to South Korea's Foreign Ministry. On 8 July, at the NATO summit in Ankara, Lee and Zelenskyy agreed to handle the case on humanitarian grounds while respecting the soldiers' wishes.
The two soldiers arrived in South Korea the weekend before Zelenskyy announced their transfer at the UN General Assembly, opposition lawmaker Yu Yong-weon said.
North Korea's role in Russia's war
North Korea began sending troops to support Russia's war in late 2024, with initial estimates putting the deployment at more than 10,000 soldiers. Many were sent to Russia's Kursk Oblast. The two countries signed a strategic partnership pact with a mutual defense clause in Pyongyang in June 2024.
