Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha met his South Korean counterpart Cho Hyun on the sidelines of the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Paris and said he was convinced “new steps toward full normalization” of relations lay ahead, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said on 10 November. South Korea’s Foreign Ministry has earmarked $100 million for Ukraine in its proposed 2027 budget, which would fulfill a pledge President Lee Jae Myung made in July, Korea JoongAng Daily reported on 9 November.

The talks were the ministers’ first face-to-face meeting since Seoul recalled its ambassador in October. The row began when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the UN General Assembly on 23 September that Ukraine had handed two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea. Seoul says Kyiv had asked to keep the transfer quiet and then broke that agreement, and it demanded an apology. Zelenskyy’s adviser Dmytro Lytvyn wrote on Facebook that there had been no agreement to stay silent. Seoul has since also pulled staff from its embassy in Kyiv.

Cho tells Sybiha that agreements must be honored

Cho told Sybiha that mutual respect, trust, and faithful implementation of agreements were basic preconditions for the relationship to develop, and said he hoped all pending issues would be resolved smoothly, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said on 11 November. He added that Seoul would keep looking for ways to provide humanitarian aid and support Ukraine’s reconstruction. Sybiha, in turn, proposed continuing diplomatic efforts to keep relations stable, the ministry said. Kyunghyang Shinmun read Cho’s words as a renewed call for an apology and for steps to prevent a repeat.

Ukraine’s readout, for its part, did not mention the prisoners. In it, Sybiha said the ministers discussed ways to end the war and that he valued Cho’s views, which drew on Korea’s own historical experience. He also welcomed Korean business taking part in Ukraine’s reconstruction and invited Cho to visit Ukraine again. Seoul Shinmun noted that Kyiv’s account contained no apology and no pledge to prevent a repeat.

Speaking on the national telethon, Sybiha said the two had talked frankly about the recent unpleasant events, Interfax-Ukraine reported.

“We deserve an extraordinarily dynamic and high-level relationship with South Korea,” Sybiha added.

Where the $100 million would go

The figures come from the office of Song Seog-jun, chair of the National Assembly’s foreign affairs committee, and from diplomatic sources, according to Korea JoongAng Daily. Under the proposal, Seoul’s contribution to a NATO trust fund for Ukraine would nearly triple, from $16.7 million this year to $50 million in 2027. Humanitarian aid would rise from $5 million to $20 million. Another $30 million would come from a program for conflict-affected and fragile countries.

“Recent diplomatic tensions must not undermine the progress made in bilateral cooperation,” Song said.

A Foreign Ministry official told the paper that the government’s principled position on supporting Ukraine remained unchanged. That support excludes weapons: South Korean law bars direct exports of lethal arms to countries at war, and in August Seoul again refused Kyiv’s request for them.

South Korean defense startup Newtype Industries says it never stopped working with Ukraine, its founder and CEO Sung-won (Joe) Cho told Ukrainian defense outlet Militarnyi on 6 November. He rejected a report by The Diplomat, a magazine covering the Asia-Pacific region, that a diplomatic row between Seoul and Kyiv had ended Ukrainian trials of the company’s AI artillery software. Cho said neither he nor anyone else at Newtype had spoken to the magazine about the matter.

Ukraine fights Russia’s invasion partly with foreign technology that companies test on its front lines. South Korea, a major arms producer, has tried to keep supporting Ukraine while its relations with Kyiv sour. Seoul is withdrawing about half its embassy staff from Kyiv, saying Ukraine broke an understanding to keep the transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers confidential, which Kyiv denies. Any sign that the dispute is spilling into military cooperation matters to both countries.

A report of an order from above

Cho told the magazine in an interview that in mid-October a Ukrainian representative overseeing the cooperation passed on an order from above to stop all work, The Diplomat reported on 5 November. It quoted him as blaming the diplomatic conflict between the two countries. Since then, contact with Ukrainian partners had stopped, the magazine wrote.

Newtype had been testing Barbara, software meant to speed up artillery targeting. A soldier dictates a report into a smartphone, and the AI turns it into a structured message for the fire direction officer. It can flag possibly wrong coordinates or a target in a civilian area, but a human makes the final decision to fire. Canada-headquartered advisory firm Reaktion Group connected the startup with two Ukrainian units, and Newtype expected to finish testing in 2026, according to The Diplomat.

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“Completely false,” the CEO says

Cho called the report about halted Barbara tests completely false. He also explained why his company works with Ukraine.

“For me and Newtype, it is the greatest honor to help Ukrainians defend their country. Koreans know what it is to be invaded,” Cho said.

Neither The Diplomat nor Ukrainian officials had commented on his denial by the time of publication.

A rift over North Korean prisoners

The dispute began after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the UN General Assembly in September that Ukraine had handed two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea. Seoul recalled its ambassador in October. Some European diplomats in Seoul also question whether South Korea is tilting toward Russia, while Seoul says it backs ending the war.