South Korea Voices Regret Over Ukraine Denial of Pact on North Korean PoWs, Yonhap Reports

Yonhap News

South Korean presidential building.

The South Korean presidential office voiced "strong regret" over what it called Ukraine's denial of an agreement with Seoul not to disclose the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war (POWs) to South Korea, Yonhap reported on Sunday.

The presidential office "expresses strong regret over Ukraine's unilateral disclosure (of the transfer) and its subsequent false announcement that there had not been a nondisclosure agreement," Seong Ghi-hong, senior presidential secretary for public relations, said in a released statement.

The Cheong Wa Dae official added the country is considering taking additional measures regarding the issue, if necessary.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed during a United Nations address last week that Ukraine has sent the two North Korean soldiers captured last year to South Korea.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and his office have since said Ukraine breached a nondisclosure agreement aimed at keeping the transfer a secret to safeguard the soldiers from dangers they could face if their transfer were to be disclosed, citing international law and humanitarian principles.

Soon after, Ukrainian media outlets reported a Ukrainian presidential source as denying the existence of a confidentiality agreement with Seoul.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday that Ukraine had transferred two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea. He said ⁠the men had recently been sent there after being captured while fighting for Russia in the war against Ukraine.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung later said it was "deeply regretful" that Ukraine had made the transfer public, adding that the two sides had agreed not to disclose it.

The presidential office "expresses strong regret over Ukraine's unilateral disclosure (of the transfer) and its subsequent false announcement that there ‌had ⁠not been a non-disclosure agreement," Yonhap quoted Seong Ghi-hong, senior presidential secretary for public relations, as saying in a statement.

The South Korean official added that the government was considering additional measures over the issue ⁠if necessary, Yonhap added.

Ukraine captured the two North Koreans in Russia's Kursk region in January 2025. They were the first North Korean soldiers to ⁠be captured alive since Pyongyang entered the Russia-Ukraine war in 2024.

The transfer comes as South Korea has backed efforts to ⁠revive dialogue with North Korea, while US President Donald Trump has renewed his willingness to engage with Pyongyang.

Source: Reuters, Yonhap



PUKMEDIA