South Korea has decided to recall its ambassador from Ukraine. The move stems from a diplomatic dispute over Kyiv's disclosure of information regarding the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war, according to infohub.kz.
According to RBC, citing a translation of a Yonhap report, the recall was prompted by Ukraine's disclosure of details about the handover of the two North Korean POWs.
On October 7, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhyi attributed the disagreement with South Korea to differing interpretations of the confidentiality agreements surrounding the transfer of the two North Korean prisoners. He said the sides had agreed on the details of the transfer in advance, and after the dispute arose, they began private negotiations through closed channels.
Tykhyi stated that Seoul itself had requested the transfer of the prisoners, regarding them as its own citizens. The South Korean side cited the republic's constitution, which stipulates that its territory covers the entire Korean Peninsula. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman called the transfer a gesture of goodwill on Kyiv's part.
Recall that South Korean President Lee Jae-myung criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who during the UN General Assembly in New York said that Ukraine had recently sent two North Korean soldiers to South Korea.
Last week, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung again issued a statement regarding Ukraine amid the scandal over the North Korean POWs.
In January 2025, it became known that two North Korean soldiers had been captured by Ukrainian forces in January 2025 in Russia's Kursk region.