South Korea has demanded an official explanation and apology from Ukraine after Kyiv publicly disclosed the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea, escalating a diplomatic dispute over whether the operation was supposed to remain confidential.
The South Korean presidential office said Ukraine had unilaterally revealed the transfer despite what Seoul described as a prior non-disclosure agreement. Seoul also objected to a subsequent Ukrainian denial that such an agreement existed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed the transfer during his address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York last week. He said Ukraine had recently sent two North Korean soldiers captured while fighting for Russia to South Korea.
The two soldiers were captured by Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region in January 2025. They were among North Korean troops deployed to support Russia in its war against Ukraine and became the first North Korean soldiers captured alive in the conflict.
South Korean officials said Kyiv had repeatedly discussed the transfer with Seoul and had requested that the arrangement remain secret. According to Seoul, South Korea agreed because of security, diplomatic and humanitarian concerns, including potential risks to the soldiers and their relatives still in North Korea.
Seoul also said Ukraine had been concerned that publicly transferring the North Koreans to South Korea could generate criticism that Kyiv had surrendered an opportunity to exchange them for Ukrainian prisoners held by Russia. The South Korean presidential office said the disclosure therefore came without sufficient prior consultation.
President Lee Jae Myung had already criticized the disclosure several days earlier, saying the two governments had agreed not to make the transfer public because of the potential consequences for diplomacy, national security and the Korean Peninsula’s security environment.
Ukraine, however, disputes Seoul’s characterization of the arrangement. A Ukrainian presidential office source said there was no confidentiality agreement and argued that Kyiv had only disclosed the fact that the prisoners had been transferred rather than details of the operation.
That disagreement has become the central issue in the dispute. Seoul maintains that Ukraine specifically requested confidentiality and that the two sides reached an understanding to protect the prisoners and their families. Kyiv’s position is that no such agreement existed.
South Korea had previously declined to publicly confirm that the North Korean soldiers had arrived in the country, citing concerns over their safety and the potential consequences for family members who remain in North Korea. The two soldiers had reportedly expressed a desire to go to South Korea.
The episode also highlights the unusual diplomatic position of the two prisoners. Their capture provided Ukraine with direct evidence of North Korean military involvement in Russia’s war, while their eventual transfer to South Korea brought the issue into the sphere of inter-Korean relations and Seoul’s broader security concerns.
For Ukraine, North Korean participation in Russia’s war has been an important part of its effort to demonstrate the international dimensions of the conflict. For South Korea, the presence of captured North Korean soldiers carries additional implications because of the potential consequences for their families and the wider security situation on the Korean Peninsula.
Seoul’s presidential office said it is considering further measures if necessary, while Ukraine has not indicated that it accepts South Korea’s account of a confidentiality agreement. The dispute therefore remains focused on both the disclosure itself and the conflicting accounts of what was agreed between the two governments.
The controversy adds another layer to the growing international attention surrounding North Korean troops fighting alongside Russian forces — and raises questions about how future transfers of captured North Korean personnel will be handled between Ukraine, South Korea and other governments involved in the conflict.
