Seoul blasts Kyiv for disclosure of transferred North Korean soldiers

South Korea called for an official apology from Ukraine after the Ukrainian president revealed what Seoul says was supposed to be a secret transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the UN General Assembly last week that Ukraine had recently sent the men to South Korea after capturing them on a Ukraine-Russia battlefield in early 2025.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung quickly accused Ukraine of violating a nondisclosure agreement about the transfer.

Ukraine denied making such a deal.

Seong Ghi-hong, a senior presidential adviser for Lee on public relations, expressed "strong regret" on Sunday over Ukraine's latest actions and demanded an official apology and explanation.

Seong said the two countries had earlier reached the agreement as Seoul was concerned about the safety of the North Korean soldiers and their relatives in the North and unspecified diplomatic and security issues, while Kyiv worried about possible domestic criticism for forfeiting an opportunity to exchange them for Ukrainian soldiers held in Russia.