South Korea demands apology and warns of consequences over North Korean prisoner scandal

South Korea is demanding an official explanation and apology from Ukraine over the disclosure of information about the transfer of two North Korean military prisoners to Seoul. The country’s presidential office said the situation damaged trust between the two governments.

Reuters reports this.

Seoul claims that Ukraine disclosed information about the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war despite an agreement to keep the matter confidential.

The South Korean side also accused Kyiv of denying the existence of such an agreement after the information was made public.

“The presidential office expresses serious regret over Ukraine’s unilateral disclosure and subsequent false statement that a non-disclosure agreement did not exist,” said Song Ki-hong, the South Korean presidential senior secretary for public relations.

He said the incident had seriously undermined trust between the governments and could affect bilateral relations. Seoul also said it may consider additional measures.

At the same time, a representative of the South Korean presidential office confirmed that the Ukrainian side had informed Seoul in advance of Volodymyr Zelensky’s intention to mention the prisoners during his speech at the UN General Assembly.

Earlier, the Office of the President of Ukraine denied the existence of a non-disclosure agreement . Presidential Communications Advisor Dmytro Lytvyn stated that Kyiv had not made such commitments.

Before that, South Korea had already accused Ukraine of violating the agreements after Zelensky publicly spoke about the transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers to Seoul.

Two North Korean soldiers were captured by the Ukrainian Defense Forces in the Kursk region in January 2025. They later expressed a desire to move to South Korea.

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