Seoul Slams Zelenskyy Over North Korean POW Disclosure

South Korea has demanded an official apology from Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed what Seoul said was a covert transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to the South.

Seoul said the release of the information violated a non-disclosure agreement covering the handover. Ukraine denied that any such deal had been made, and South Korea’s senior presidential adviser for public relations said on Sunday that Kyiv’s actions had caused “significant damage” to ties.

Seoul Calls Zelenskyy’s Disclosure “Undermining Trust”

Zelenskyy told the UN General Assembly last week that Ukraine had recently sent the two men to South Korea after capturing them on a Ukraine-Russia battlefield in early 2025. Seoul said the transfer was meant to remain confidential.

South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung criticised Ukraine’s handling of the matter soon after Zelenskyy’s comments and demanded an explanation. Seong Ghi-hong, the presidential adviser, said in a statement that Ukraine’s “false” denial of the non-disclosure arrangement was “an act that seriously undermines trust between the two governments”.

Seong said the two sides had agreed on the transfer earlier because South Korea was concerned about the safety of the North Korean soldiers and their relatives in North Korea, as well as unspecified diplomatic and security issues. He said Ukraine, for its part, was worried about possible domestic criticism if it gave up an opportunity to exchange the men for Ukrainian soldiers held in Russia.

The South Korean government did not receive a response from Ukraine’s embassy in Seoul in repeated calls on Monday.

Two Soldiers Told Media They Wanted To Stay

While still in Ukraine, the two soldiers said in interviews with media outlets that they wished to resettle in South Korea. South Korea had called on Ukraine not to send them back to North Korea, where they could face persecution.

South Korea views North Korea as part of its territory under its legal framework and runs a policy that accepts and financially supports North Korean defectors. More than 34,000 North Koreans have fled to the South since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, with most arriving in the last three decades. Many were female civilians from poorer northern provinces, while defections by soldiers are rare.

Zelenskyy did not provide details of the transfer at the UN during his remarks, but said one of the men tried to kill himself when he realised he was going to be taken prisoner, adding that “he was shocked that fate didn’t let him die”.

Wider War And Diplomacy Context

The two men are among thousands of North Korean soldiers deployed to support Russia’s war against Ukraine. Some analysts say Zelenskyy may have chosen to publicly highlight the risks posed by North Korea’s involvement in the conflict to help attract wider Western assistance.

South Korea’s liberal government has also worried that disclosure could trigger an angry response from North Korea and complicate efforts to restart diplomacy between Pyongyang and Washington.

South Korea, which has provided humanitarian aid and other support to Ukraine and joined US-led economic sanctions against Russia since the conflict began in 2022, has also resisted calls from Kyiv and NATO to supply direct military assistance. Seoul has a long-standing policy of not providing weapons to countries engaged in active conflict.

North Korea and Russia said in April 2025 that their troops fought together to repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk region. South Korea, the United States and others have said North Korea has supplied artillery, ammunition and missiles to Russia in return for economic and military support. South Korea’s intelligence service estimated last year that North Korea sent about 15,000 troops, with around 2,000 killed.

Seoul and Washington have also linked deeper Russia-North Korea cooperation to Kim Jong Un’s efforts to push back against US-led pressure and accelerate a nuclear programme. Last month, US President Donald Trump scaled back a military drill with South Korea, in an apparent effort to restart diplomacy with Kim, but North Korea indicated the move did not go far enough to bring it back to talks.

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28 September 2026

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