South Korea's Lee Threatens Ukraine Over POW Disclosure — SkimNews
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- South Korean President Lee Jae Myung warned on Oct 2 of 'further measures' if Ukraine refuses to apologize, accusing Kyiv of making him out to be a 'liar' and saying the matter concerns 'the dignity of the Republic of Korea and its people.'
- Seoul claims Ukraine violated a 'clear understanding' of confidentiality, arguing public disclosure endangers the POWs' families in North Korea, where Pyongyang is known to retaliate against defectors' relatives.
- Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the dispute a 'diplomatic misunderstanding' in an Oct 1 interview, describing South Korea as 'an important country' and expressing hope for 'continued cooperation, and concrete results.'
- The two North Korean POWs were captured in early 2025 after being deployed alongside thousands of North Korean troops supporting Russia's war effort, in exchange for economic and military assistance to Pyongyang.
- South Korea's National Intelligence Service assessed that Zelensky disclosed the transfer to build South Korean public support for Seoul supplying arms to Ukraine, according to a lawmaker briefed on Sept 30.
- Myongji University political science professor Shin Yul warned Seoul's dovish approach to the North risks domestic backlash, noting the government's swiftness on Ukraine contrasts sharply with its 'extreme caution' over a North Korean landmine incident that injured South Korean soldiers.
Why it matters: Seoul's rationale — that publicity endangers the POWs' families — is undercut by the fact that both soldiers were already photographed by South Korean media before arriving in the South, making the 'confidentiality' defense politically awkward. The dispute also exposes an uncomfortable domestic tension: the same administration accused of softness toward North Korea after the landmine incident is now taking an unusually hard line against a wartime ally, and a spy-agency reading that Zelensky leaked the transfer to push Seoul toward arming Ukraine gives Kyiv little room to back down.
Ask SkimNews
