President Lee Jae-myung accused Kyiv of violating a confidentiality agreement and later denying the pact existed, effectively calling the South Korean president a liar. While Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the event as a diplomatic misunderstanding, Lee accused Ukraine of plotting for the outbreak of war on the Korean Peninsula. South Korea alleges that Ukraine itself insisted on secrecy to protect the soldiers' families from retaliation in Pyongyang and to avoid domestic criticism for not using the prisoners in swaps for Ukrainian troops. South Korea has previously provided Ukraine with non-lethal and financial aid, including a $100 million package in July.
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
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South Korea Recalls Ukraine Ambassador Over Transfer of 2 North Korean POWs
Geopolitics13 days ago
The government in Seoul is pulling its top representative out of Kyiv to signal a critical breakdown in trust over a security disclosure dispute. South Korea's foreign ministry confirmed on October 8 that it is recalling its ambassador after Foreign Minister Cho Hyun determined that a recent apology from Ukraine was insufficient. Seoul had demanded a full acknowledgement and a formal apology after President Volodymyr Zelensky unilaterally revealed the secret transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea during a speech at the UN General Assembly on September 23.
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