Conflict over DPRK prisoners: Seoul withdraws some diplomats from Ukraine

South Korea has decided to further reduce the number of staff at its embassy in Ukraine. Seoul explains this by the lack of a constructive response from Kyiv to the dispute over the transfer of two North Korean military prisoners, as well as risks to the security of diplomatic personnel.

Reuters reports this.

The decision was announced by the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, October 20. It was a continuation of the diplomatic escalation that arose a few weeks ago when Seoul recalled its ambassador from Ukraine.

South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Park Doo-sung said that after the ambassador’s recall, the Ukrainian side did not provide the positive response that Seoul had hoped for.

Another reason for the staff reduction is the constant threat of Russian strikes on Ukrainian territory. According to the spokesman, the security situation makes it more difficult to guarantee the protection of embassy employees.

The diplomatic conflict escalated after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s speech at the UN General Assembly on September 23. At that time, he announced that Ukraine had recently transferred two prisoners of war from North Korea to South Korea.

Seoul said Kyiv violated the non-disclosure agreement regarding the transfer of prisoners. The Ukrainian side, however, denies that such an agreement existed between the countries.

Earlier, South Korean President Lee Jae-myeon said that Ukraine had violated an agreement with Seoul not to disclose information regarding the transfer of two prisoners of war from the DPRK. He expressed regret that this information had become public.

In addition, South Korea demanded an official explanation and apology from Ukraine for disclosing information about the transfer of two prisoners of war from the DPRK to Seoul. The country’s presidential office said that this situation damaged trust between the two governments.

Later, the South Korean government decided to recall its ambassador to Ukraine, Park Ki-chang, amid a diplomatic dispute between Kyiv and Seoul.

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