South Korea demands Ukraine explanation and apology over North Korean POW disclosure

Seoul, South Korea, September 28, 2026 — South Korea has demanded an official explanation and apology from Ukraine over the public disclosure of the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to Seoul, saying Kyiv breached an agreement to keep the matter confidential.

The dispute began after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed during his address to the United Nations General Assembly last week that Ukraine had recently transferred two North Korean soldiers to South Korea. He said the soldiers had been captured while fighting for Russia and described them as difficult to capture alive.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung subsequently said the disclosure violated an agreement between Seoul and Kyiv to keep the transfer private. “I do not know why the Ukrainian side broke the agreement and made the matter public, but it is very disappointing,” Lee wrote on X.

On Sunday, Seong Ghi-hong, senior presidential secretary for public relations, said the South Korean presidential office strongly regretted Ukraine’s unilateral disclosure and its subsequent denial that a nondisclosure agreement had existed. Seoul said it was considering additional measures if necessary and demanded an official explanation and apology.

Ukraine has disputed Seoul’s characterization of the arrangement. Zelenskyy’s aide Dmytro Lytvyn said the president had only disclosed that the soldiers had been handed over to South Korea and argued that Ukraine, as an open country, would not normally conduct such a transfer secretly.

The two North Korean soldiers were captured by Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region in January 2025 while fighting alongside Russian forces. They were the first North Korean soldiers captured alive since Pyongyang became involved in Russia’s war against Ukraine. South Korean media had reported that the two soldiers wanted to settle in South Korea.

South Korea had said in June that it would accept North Korean prisoners of war captured after fighting for Russia and opposed their repatriation to either Russia or North Korea. The two soldiers are now in South Korea, where authorities are expected to conduct questioning and security screening before deciding on protection and resettlement under relevant South Korean laws and procedures.