Seoul has accused Ukraine of breaching confidentiality by publicly revealing the transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea.
Source: Yonhap
A senior public relations secretary to President Lee Jae Myung said the transfer had been discussed confidentially with the Ukrainian side on multiple occasions. According to the official, Kyiv itself had allegedly insisted on secrecy, fearing criticism over transferring the prisoners to Seoul rather than using them in an exchange for Ukrainian soldiers.
However, on September 23, Volodymyr Zelensky publicly announced during his address to the UN General Assembly that Ukraine had transferred two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea.
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry subsequently summoned Ukraine’s acting ambassador, Andrii Veshkin. According to Yonhap, First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo conveyed Seoul’s position to the Ukrainian diplomat during the meeting.
South Korea’s presidential administration said the disclosure had caused “serious damage to mutual trust” and could affect relations between the two countries.
Zelensky adviser Dmytro Lytvyn denied that any non-disclosure agreement existed. He said it would have been wrong to conceal information about what happened to the prisoners.
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