Ukraine Seeks to Mend South Korea Spat Over North Korean POWs — SkimNews
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- Andrii Sybiha told journalists he "would not like to call this an incident" and said Ukraine is working to repair ties with South Korea, which he called "an important country."
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly revealed the prisoner transfer while addressing the UN General Assembly last week, angering Seoul, which had expected the move to remain secret.
- South Korea's presidential office demanded an explanation and apology this week, and accused Ukraine of falsely denying that both sides had agreed to keep the transfer confidential.
- Seoul sought secrecy over security, diplomatic, and humanitarian concerns, including the safety of the two prisoners and their families, a senior Korean official said.
- Ukraine captured the two North Korean soldiers in January 2025, the first troops taken alive since Pyongyang entered the war on Russia's side in 2024.
- Zelenskyy said this week that more than 8,000 North Korean troops remain in Russia and 10,000 are being trained for future deployment, on top of an estimated 14,000 already dispatched to help Moscow in Kursk.
- North Korea signed a strategic partnership with Russia including a mutual defense pact, the framework under which its troops have been fighting in Ukraine.
Why it matters: The spat risks complicating a relationship that has grown strategically important: South Korea has been weighing direct arms supplies to Ukraine precisely because North Korean troops are fighting alongside Russia, and a public breach over the POW transfer could chill that channel at a moment when Zelenskyy says 10,000 more North Korean soldiers are being trained for deployment.
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