South Korea to recall envoy to Ukraine amid dispute over disclosure of North Korean POWs

Seoul: South Korea will recall its ambassador to Ukraine, the foreign ministry said Thursday, amid a diplomatic dispute over Kyiv's disclosure of the transfer of North Korean prisoners of war (POWs) to Seoul.

The Seoul government has demanded an official explanation and apology over Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's disclosure of the transfer of the two North Korean soldiers to Seoul, as well as a statement from his office denying that there had been an agreement to keep the matter confidential.

"The government has decided to recall its ambassador to Ukraine to Seoul," the ministry said in a release.

"We hope that various issues between the two countries will be resolved smoothly, and we will continue consultations with the Ukrainian side to that end," it added.

The ministry did not elaborate further on the decision to recall Ambassador Park Ki-chang, though a senior official said the government has taken the issue seriously, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The two North Korean soldiers were captured in January 2025 while fighting for Russia in the Kursk region and arrived in South Korea in mid-September, according to officials here.

Zelensky unexpectedly disclosed their transfer in an address to the UN General Assembly in New York last month.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun has stressed that there had been an agreement from the outset to keep the matter confidential to protect the soldiers and their families, who remain in North Korea, noting that the Ukrainian side had first requested that the matter not be made public.

Last week, the foreign ministry called in Andrii Vieshkin, acting ambassador of Ukraine to South Korea, and expressed strong concern over Ukraine's denial of the confidentiality agreement, and called for an official clarification and apology.

Cho has said that he received a message from Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha that included an apology but that it fell short of Seoul's expectations, noting that the government intended to take "firm measures."

The Ukrainian side has not issued any official message so far.

South Korea has sought to resolve the dispute through diplomatic channels, while emphasising the importance of maintaining its relations with Ukraine.

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