Seoul Seeks Apology From Kyiv Over Revealed North Korean POW Transfer

South Korea has demanded an official apology and explanation from Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly disclosed the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korean territory, a move Seoul says violated a confidentiality agreement between the two governments.

In his address to the United Nations General Assembly last week, Zelenskyy said Ukraine had recently sent the two men to South Korea. They had been captured on a Ukraine-Russia battlefield in early 2025 and are among thousands of North Korean soldiers dispatched to support Russia's war effort.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung responded by accusing Ukraine of breaching a nondisclosure agreement covering the transfer. Kyiv has denied that any such arrangement existed.

On Sunday, Seong Ghi-hong, a senior presidential adviser to Lee on public relations, voiced "strong regret" over Ukraine's conduct and called for a formal apology and clarification. He described Ukraine's denial of the agreement as "false" and said it was "an act that seriously undermines trust between the two governments and causes significant damage to friendly relations between the two countries."

Seong said the two sides had reached the understanding earlier because Seoul was concerned about the safety of the North Korean soldiers and their relatives in the North, as well as broader diplomatic and security considerations. Kyiv, he said, was worried about possible domestic criticism for giving up a chance to exchange the men for Ukrainian soldiers held in Russia.

Repeated calls to Ukraine's embassy in Seoul went unanswered on Monday.

While still in Ukraine, the two soldiers said in media interviews that they wished to resettle in South Korea. Seoul had urged Ukraine not to return them to North Korea, where they could face persecution. South Korea legally regards the North as part of its territory and maintains a policy of accepting and financially supporting North Korean defectors.

More than 34,000 North Koreans have fled to the South since the 1950-53 Korean War ended, most of them in the past three decades. The majority were female civilians from the North's poorer northern provinces, and defections by soldiers are uncommon.

In his U.N. remarks, Zelenskyy did not detail the transfer but said of one captive: "one of them, when he realized he was going to be taken prisoner, tried to kill himself and he was shocked that fate didn't let him die. This is how they raise people in the North."

Analysts suggest Zelenskyy likely chose to highlight the risks of North Korean involvement in the war to attract greater Western assistance. South Korea's liberal government, by contrast, feared that news of the transfer could provoke an angry response from Pyongyang and complicate efforts to revive diplomacy between North Korea and Washington.

South Korea, a growing arms exporter with a well-equipped, U.S.-backed military, has provided humanitarian aid and other support to Ukraine while joining U.S.-led economic sanctions against Russia since the conflict began in 2022. Seoul has nonetheless resisted calls from Kyiv and NATO to supply weapons directly, in line with its long-standing policy of not arming countries actively engaged in conflict.

North Korea and Russia confirmed in April 2025 that their soldiers had fought together to repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia's Kursk border region. South Korea, the United States and others say Pyongyang has also supplied artillery, ammunition and missiles to Russia in exchange for economic and military assistance. South Korea's intelligence service estimated last year that North Korea had sent about 15,000 troops, with roughly 2,000 killed.

Deepening cooperation with Russia has helped North Korean leader Kim Jong Un push back against U.S.-led pressure and accelerate his nuclear weapons program. Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump scaled back a military drill with South Korea in an apparent bid to restart diplomacy with Kim, but North Korea has indicated the step was not enough to bring it back to talks.