South Korean President Lee Jae-myung accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of cruelty and irresponsibility for publicly disclosing the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war, according to infohub.kz.
According to Yonhap, the criticism followed Zelensky's speech at the UN General Assembly in New York, in which he said Ukraine had recently sent two North Korean soldiers to South Korea. The Ukrainian presidential administration confirmed that the transfer of the two North Korean detainees was carried out through direct dialogue with Seoul.
Lee stressed that the matter is extremely delicate and could have a huge impact on diplomacy, national security, and the security situation on the Korean Peninsula.
"Ukraine disclosed the information in violation of a non-disclosure agreement. I do not know the reasons for the disclosure, but I regret it," the South Korean president said.
According to him, Seoul and Kyiv had agreed on a confidential transfer of the North Korean soldiers, given the numerous problems that could arise if the information were disclosed.
At the same time, South Korea's opposition parties criticized the decision to keep the agreement confidential. Lee, in turn, responded that publicly disclosing the details of such a delicate agreement would be cruel and irresponsible.
Recall that in January 2025, it became known that two North Korean soldiers were captured by Ukrainian forces in January 2025 in Russia's Kursk region.