South Korea demanded an apology from Ukraine on September 28, 2026, accusing Kyiv of violating a confidentiality agreement regarding the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war. The diplomatic dispute erupted after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly disclosed the transfer during a United Nations speech.
The Disclosed Transfer and the Diplomatic Row
The standoff centers on two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region in January 2025. According to the report, they were the first North Korean soldiers captured alive since Pyongyang began supporting Russia in its war against Ukraine in 2024. Their transfer to South Korea followed discussions between Seoul and Kyiv over the legal and humanitarian status of North Korean prisoners. The issue was also discussed during a NATO summit in Ankara in July, where Lee met Zelenskyy. South Korea’s senior presidential spokesperson, Kang Yu-jung, said afterward that the two leaders had agreed to address the status of North Korean POWs in accordance with international law. The agreement built on an earlier understanding reached during a South Korea-Ukraine foreign ministers’ meeting in March, when the two countries pledged to cooperate on the POW issue.
The friction intensified after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed the transfer of the POWs held captive by Ukrainian forces while fighting alongside Russia during his speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, adding that they were not easy to capture alive
. Hours after Zelenskyy’s disclosure, South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung criticised the action. I do not know why the Ukrainian side broke the agreement and made the matter public, but it is very disappointing,
he wrote on X.
“I do not know why the Ukrainian side broke the agreement and made the matter public, but it is very disappointing,”
Lee Jae Myung, South Korean President
Lee further condemned the move in his post, writing that he could have sought his own approval rating rebound through a public disclosure of the POW transfer but he did not make such a decision, and also likened those sacrificing human lives, national interest and national security for personal gain to murderers or traitors,
calling the decision to keep the matter confidential reasonable and justifiable.
Seong Ghi-hong, senior presidential secretary for public relations, stated that South Korea was considering additional measures that may be necessary regarding this matter,
demanding an official explanation and apology.
Asked about the stance of Lee’s office regarding Kyiv’s denial of Lee’s claim, an official of the presidential office said on condition of anonymity Friday that the government’s position is to respond in accordance with consistent principles,
which centers on the individual POWs’ wishes, domestic legal procedures, international legal issues and humanitarian principles.
Kyiv Denies Confidentiality Consensus
While Seoul insists a binding confidentiality pact was established prior to the repatriation, Ukrainian officials reject that account entirely. Regarding Seoul’s claim that Kyiv had broken their consensus, Dmytro Lytvyn, communications adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Friday, There was no such agreement, this is not true.
Lytvyn’s remarks came in a reply to a Facebook post by former Ukrainian journalist Oksana Torop, who is media adviser to Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Kingdom Valeriy Zaluzhny, Friday. And it would be wrong to conceal the whereabouts of specific prisoners,
Lytvyn also wrote.
Zelenskyy’s aide Dmytro Lytvyn sought to play down the disclosure, saying that the president had only made public the fact that the soldiers were handed to South Korea. Ukraine is an “open country, noted Lytvyn, saying that it would be “unusual” to hand over the soldiers in secret. That denial triggered a sharper rebuke from Seoul. Seong Ghi-hong said in a statement late on Sunday that South Korea was
considering additional measures that may be necessary regarding this matter” and added: “It is in itself a very serious matter that the Ukrainian side violated the confidentiality agreement between the two countries and made the disclosure unilaterally. But the Ukrainian presidential press office’s false statement that there had been no confidentiality agreement, seriously undermines trust between the two governments and gravely damages friendly relations between the two countries.”
Stakes for Regional Security and Bilateral Arms Requests
The intensifying dispute risks complicating Kyiv’s efforts to obtain weapons from allies, including South Korea, to fight off bombardments from Russia. The dispute comes as South Korea seeks to revive dialogue with North Korea and as US President Donald Trump has again expressed willingness to engage with Pyongyang. The presence of North Korean troops in Russia has become a significant issue in the wider Ukraine war.
According to South Korean intelligence cited in the report, North Korea is estimated to have deployed between 14,000 and 15,000 soldiers to support Moscow since 2024, primarily in Russia’s Kursk border region. South Korean, Ukrainian and Western officials have said the North Korean forces suffered heavy casualties, with more than 6,000 soldiers killed in fighting. The fate of North Korean POWs has consequently become an issue involving not only Ukraine and South Korea but also the broader diplomatic and security relationship between Seoul, Pyongyang, Moscow and Kyiv. For South Korea, the latest dispute has raised concerns about the handling of sensitive information involving the prisoners and their families. For Ukraine, the issue has highlighted its position that the transfer itself was significant enough to be shared publicly.