Seoul Warns Ukraine of “Further Action” Over North Korean POW Leak

A diplomatic rupture is widening between Seoul and Kyiv after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky disclosed at the UN General Assembly that Ukraine had sent two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea. Seoul called the disclosure a betrayal of an agreed cover-up. Now it is threatening consequences.

Seoul escalates

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung warned on Friday that if “the refusal to acknowledge the facts and issue a public apology continues, we will take additional measures.” He framed the dispute in national-honour terms — “this is a matter concerning the honour of the Republic of Korea’s people and nation, we cannot overlook it” — rejecting Kyiv’s attempt to re-brand it as a mere “diplomatic misunderstanding.” Seoul has separately summoned Ukraine’s ambassador, Andrii Vieshkin, in protest at what it called a “unilateral” disclosure.

What actually happened

The two men were captured fighting alongside Russian forces on a Ukrainian battlefield in early 2025. They are among thousands of North Korean troops deployed in support of Moscow’s war. Both had told local media they wished to reach South Korea. Handing them over quietly suited both capitals: it shielded their families in the North from reprisal, and it spared Kyiv the criticism of trading away a propaganda asset rather than swapping the men for Ukrainian POWs. Zelensky’s public announcement dissolved both protections at once.

The competing accounts

Seoul’s presidential office says Ukraine requested secrecy — and that senior presidential adviser Seong Ghi-hong later demanded an official apology and explanation. Zelensky’s office flatly denies any confidentiality undertaking ever existed. DW has reported Kyiv’s position as a “diplomatic misunderstanding” it is working to resolve, with Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha telling Ukrainian media he hoped for resolution “in the very near future,” adding: “For us, South Korea is an important country.”

Kyiv’s response to Lee’s charge

Lee has gone further than a protocol complaint, accusing Kyiv of attempting to “bring war on the Korean Peninsula” and expressing “grave regret” that Ukrainian officials were invoking the prospect of an inter-Korean military clash instead of owning the breach. As of 2 October, Ukrainian officials had not issued a point-by-point rebuttal of the “further action” threat. Kyiv’s public posture has been containment, not confrontation: deny the NDA existed, decline to apologise, reframe the episode as procedural, and emphasise the relationship’s value. That is a defensible play — but it does not answer Seoul’s central factual allegation, and silence on the “Korean Peninsula” charge risks being read in Seoul as confirmation.

Why it matters

South Korea has backed Ukraine politically and humanitarianally since Russia’s full-scale invasion while holding to a long-standing bar on supplying lethal weapons to belligerents. Analysts told the SCMP the row now puts that future ties-and-aid track at risk. It also landed domestically: the Korean opposition has accused Lee’s government of concealing the transfer to avoid antagonising Pyongyang. Zelensky needed Seoul’s voice on the Korean stage; Lee needed Kyiv to keep quiet. Both miscalculated.