Seoul demands an apology after Zelenskyy reveals North Korean POWs were sent to South Korea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Seoul has called for an official apology from Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed what it says was supposed to be a secret transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea. General Assembly last week that Ukraine had recently sent the men to South Korea, after capturing them on a Ukraine-Russia battlefield in early 2025. The two are among thousands of North Korean soldiers sent to support Russia’s war against Ukraine.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung quickly accused Ukraine of violating a nondisclosure agreement about the transfer. Late Sunday, Seong Ghi-hong, a senior presidential adviser for Lee on public relations, expressed “strong regret” over Ukraine’s latest actions and demanded an official apology and explanation. The South Korean Foreign Ministry on Monday summoned Ukraine’s ambassador to Seoul, Andrii Vieshkin, to protest what it described as Kyiv’s “unilateral disclosure” of the prisoners’ transfer and its false denial that the two countries had agreed to keep the matter confidential.

Vieshkin said he would convey Seoul’s position to his government, the ministry said in a statement. Repeated calls to Ukraine’s Embassy in Seoul seeking comment were unanswered. Seong said that Ukraine’s “false” denial of the nondisclosure agreement 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 agreement was reached because Seoul was concerned about the safety of the North Korean soldiers and their relatives in the North while Kyiv worried about possible domestic criticism for forfeiting an opportunity to exchange them for Ukrainian soldiers held in Russia.

North Korean POWs wanted to resettle in South Korea While still in Ukraine, the two soldiers said in media interviews that they wanted to resettle in South Korea. Seoul had called on Ukraine not to send them back to North Korea, where they could face persecution. The South legally regards the North as part of its territory and has a policy of accepting and financially supporting North Korean defectors.

More than 34,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, mostly in the last three decades. Most were female civilians from the North’s poor… Ukraine denied making such a deal.Late Sunday, Seong Ghi-hong, a senior presidential adviser for Lee on public relations, expressed “strong regret” over Ukraine’s latest actions and demanded an official apology and explanation.The South Korean Foreign Ministry on Monday summoned Ukraine’s ambassador to Seoul, Andrii Vieshkin, to protest what it described as Kyiv’s “unilateral disclosure” of the prisoners’ transfer and its false denial that the two countries had agreed to keep the matter confidential.Vieshkin said he would convey Seoul’s position to his government, the ministry said in a statement.

Most were female civilians from the North’s poorer northern…