Seoul demanded an apology to Kyiv for violating a confidentiality agreement by revealing that two North Korean prisoners captured by Ukraine had been transferred to South Korea.
© Lusa
28/09/2026
by
Lusa
“ The fact that the Ukrainian side violated the confidentiality agreement between the two countries and unilaterally disclosed [information] is in itself a very serious fact,” said South Korean Public Relations Secretary Seong Ghi-hong on Sunday night.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Thursday during an intervention at the United Nations in New York that Kyiv had recently sent the two North Korean military to South Korean territory.
Soldiers were not “easy to capture alive,” Zelensky said.
Hours later, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung accused Ukraine of violating a confidentiality agreement.
“ I don’t know why the Ukrainian side broke the agreement and made the case public, but it’s very disappointing,” said the South Korean leader.
Lee explained that there had been appeals to disclose the arrival of the military, but that Seoul and Kyiv had agreed to keep the operation confidential.
A collaborator of Zelensky, Dmytro Lytvyn, argued, for his part, that Ukraine is an “open country” and that the surrender of soldiers in secret would have been strange.
“In all history, which is long and detailed, we only report the fact in itself: they were sent to the Republic of Korea,” Lytyyn told journalists.
Seong Ghi-hong warned that “the false statement by the Ukrainian presidential press office, alleging that there was no confidentiality agreement (...), seriously undermines trust between the two governments and seriously undermines friendly relations between the two countries.”.
South Korea therefore formally calls for “an explanation and an official apology,” Seong continued, saying that the Presidency was assessing “additional measures that could be needed”, but without further details.
The two soldiers were captured in 2025 by Ukrainian forces and were part of the contingent sent by Pyongyang to fight alongside Russian troops in the war against Ukraine.
In a letter sent to a non-governmental organization in Seoul, they expressed their desire to have a “normal life” in South Korea.
The South Korean Constitution considers all Korean citizens, including residents in North Korea, a provision that, according to Seoul authorities, also applies to North Korean soldiers captured in Ukraine.
Seoul estimates that Pyongyang has sent some 15,000 combat soldiers and over 6,000 engineers and construction personnel to Russia since October 2024.
For his part, Kyiv calculated in August that about 8,500 North Korean military personnel remained prominent in Russian territory, especially in the Kursk border region.