NEW YORK, UNITED STATES – SEPTEMBER 22: President of South Korea Lee Jae Myung addresses the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, which brings together leaders and senior representatives of UN member states in New York, United States, on September 22, 2026.
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South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Friday slammed Ukraine over its disclosure of handing North Korean prisoners of war to Seoul, demanding a public apology and threatening “additional measures” against Kyiv.
In a post on X, Lee said that Kyiv had unilaterally revealed that some captured North Korean soldiers had been sent to South Korea, despite having demanded confidentiality and later claiming there was no secrecy agreement, making the Korean leader look like a “liar.”
“As this is a matter concerning the honor of the Republic of Korea’s people and nation, we cannot overlook it,” he said in Korean, translated by Google.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha reportedly described the row on Thursday as a “diplomatic misunderstanding,” which his country expects to resolve. Seoul remains an important partner for Kyiv, Sybiha added.
Non-disclosure agreement
At the United Nations General Assembly last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv had sent two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea.
That prompted South Korea to accuse Ukraine of breaching a nondisclosure agreement about the transfer and summoning Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires for an explanation. Seoul also said after the speech that Ukraine had asked for the transfer to be kept a secret, as it could negatively impact prisoner exchanges with Russia.
“When we demanded acknowledgement of the agreement and an apology, they instead spoke of an imminent military clash between North and South, praying for the outbreak of war on the Korean Peninsula—we express grave regret toward Ukraine,” Lee said on Friday.
The comments follow Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov interview last week, where he said that North Korea’s participation in the Ukraine-Russia conflict was to prepare for combat on the Korean Peninsula.
“The situation is escalating every day. And it is only a matter of time before a trigger event occurs that will lead to uncontrolled consequences,” he added, according to a Google translation of his Telegram post in Ukrainian.
While there has been no explanation from Kyiv on why Zelenskyy made the announcement at the UNGA, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service reportedly told lawmakers that he could have done it to stir support in Seoul for sending Kyiv weapons and other aid.
In August, Zelenskyy had requested South Korea to support Ukraine by providing air defense systems, something Seoul has not been supportive of even as it has offered humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
