SEOUL, September 29 (AJP) - Ukraine had asked South Korea to keep the transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers secret, the South Korean government reiterated Tuesday.
Seoul insisted that the two sides had agreed to confidentiality, while it waited for an apology from Kyiv for revealing the transfer and then denying that any such agreement existed.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) summoned Andrii Vieshkin, Ukraine's chargé d'affaires in Seoul, on Monday afternoon. First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo demanded an official explanation and apology from the Ukrainian government, and urged Kyiv to make sure it would not happen again.
No answer had come by Tuesday. "We have not yet received an official explanation from the Ukrainian side," Park Doo-soon, the MOFA spokesperson, said at a regular briefing. "As I see it, Ukraine will review the matter and convey it to us through an appropriate channel."
The spokesperson left no room for doubt about the deal itself. "Our government understands that in consultations between South Korea and Ukraine at every level, both sides clearly agreed to handle this matter confidentially, as it concerns the personal safety of the individuals and their families," he said.
Seoul has said the request for secrecy came from Kyiv. In a statement late Sunday, Seong Ghi-hong, the presidential Cheong Wa Dae's senior secretary for public relations, said Ukraine had discussed the transfer with Seoul several times through various channels and asked during those talks that it be kept confidential.
According to Seong, Kyiv called the matter highly sensitive because sending the soldiers to South Korea could draw criticism at home that Ukraine had given up a chance to exchange them for many of its own prisoners. "Our side, too, agreed to nondisclosure and proceeded with the transfer, considering various aspects including the safety of the prisoners and their families, as well as diplomacy and security," he said.
MOFA said Seoul wanted the same outcome for its own reasons. "From the start, we have consistently maintained a nondisclosure position on this matter, because it is a humanitarian issue that concerns the lives and safety of those individuals and their families," the spokesperson said Tuesday.
Ukrainian forces captured the two men in January 2025 in Russia's Kursk region, where thousands of North Korean troops were deployed to fight for Moscow. Both later said they wanted to go to South Korea, whose Constitution regards North Koreans as its citizens. Seoul had urged Kyiv not to return them to the North, where they could face punishment.
The confidentiality held until Sept. 23, when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the UN General Assembly in New York. "Recently, we sent two North Korean prisoners of war to the Republic of Korea," President Zelenskyy said. He gave no further details.
President Lee Jae Myung responded on X on Sept. 24. He called bringing North Korean prisoners to South Korea a highly sensitive issue that greatly affects diplomacy, security and the situation on the Korean Peninsula. "Considering the many problems disclosure would cause, keeping it confidential was right in every respect, and we agreed to do so," he wrote. Lee added that he did not know Kyiv's circumstances but found the disclosure deeply regrettable.
Ukraine's presidential office then said there had been no nondisclosure agreement. Seong said Kyiv issued that statement without consultation, understanding or even prior notice. He added that it had set off a controversy in South Korea over whether the president had lied.
Seong said the denial of the president's "legitimate, fact-based public remarks" was an act that "seriously undermines trust between the two governments and causes grave harm to the friendly relations between the two countries." He said the government was reviewing what further steps might be necessary.
Park Yoon-joo delivered the same message in person on Monday. Vieshkin listened carefully to Seoul's position and said he would report it accurately to his government, MOFA said.
The spokesperson said the summons was meant to put the facts on record. "We have said many times that we clearly agreed to handle this confidentially, and the president has also confirmed this," he said. Rather than serving any other purpose, he added, the meeting conveyed Seoul's "firm and somewhat stern position" to Ukraine, "based on our position and the facts."
MOFA did not say what further steps Seoul might take. The spokesperson described the transfer as a humanitarian matter "not tied to any other precondition or issue," and said communication channels with Ukraine remained open.
"Watching Ukraine's reaction, its response and various circumstances, we will carefully consider what response to take on this matter, with regard to the humanitarian issue and the development of cooperation between the two countries," he said.
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