Seoul summons Ukraine envoy over North Korean prisoner-of-war row

What the report says

South Korea has formally summoned Ukraine’s acting ambassador after President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly said Ukraine had transferred two captured North Korean soldiers to Seoul. According to BBC World News, the South Korean foreign ministry said it lodged a complaint because the disclosure was expected to remain confidential. Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo expressed strong regret, while President Lee Jae Myung called the revelation deeply disappointing and described the transfer as a sensitive national security matter.

BBC said the two North Koreans had been captured by Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region earlier in 2025 and later indicated they wanted to go to South Korea. After months of talks between Kyiv and Seoul, Zelensky mentioned their transfer during a speech at the UN General Assembly last week. Seoul confirmed the move but said Ukraine had broken an understanding to keep it private, partly to protect the men’s families and avoid undermining possible prisoner exchanges.

The dispute has fueled political criticism in South Korea and raised questions about trust between the two governments. Ukraine’s foreign ministry did not comment to the BBC. More broadly, the row comes as South Korea balances support for Ukraine with its long-standing reluctance to provide lethal weapons to countries at war, even as North Korea continues to back Russia in the conflict.