Row between Ukraine, South Korea mounts over North Korean POWs

What the report says

South Korea and Ukraine are facing a public diplomatic dispute over the handling of two North Korean prisoners of war. According to Al Jazeera, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung accused Ukraine on Friday of undermining his government after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy referred in a UN speech to the transfer of the captured soldiers to South Korea. Lee said the remarks exposed a deal that Seoul had wanted kept private and called on Kyiv to acknowledge the arrangement and apologize.

The dispute centers on claims that Ukraine transferred two North Korean POWs, captured while fighting for Russia in the Kursk region, to South Korea. South Korean officials said Ukraine had discussed the matter through several channels and had asked for secrecy. Ukrainian officials, however, have said there was no such confidentiality agreement. Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, later described the episode as a diplomatic misunderstanding and said Kyiv still wanted to maintain cooperation with Seoul.

The row matters because it involves two US-aligned governments and could complicate wider efforts to present a united position on Russia, China and North Korea. It also highlights the sensitivity around North Korean involvement in Russia’s war against Ukraine and the broader security tensions on the Korean Peninsula. The latest exchange shows both sides trying to defend their own diplomatic position while leaving room for continued contact.