South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung says Ukraine discloses the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea, calling it a breach of a non-disclosure agreement. Lee makes the remarks on X after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says in an address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York that Ukraine recently sent the two soldiers to South Korea.
Lee says the matter is highly sensitive and could affect diplomacy, national security, and the security environment on the Korean Peninsula. He adds that South Korea and Ukraine had agreed on a confidential transfer, and he expresses regret that the information is made public.
Ukraine’s presidential office responds that the transfer is carried out through direct dialogue with Seoul, and later states that Ukraine carried out the handover without citing a public breach by Ukraine beyond the disclosure issue raised by Lee. Both outlets frame the dispute around the timing of Zelensky’s public statement and South Korea’s claim of confidentiality.
