President Lee Jae Myung warned Ukraine of further measures unless Kyiv publicly apologizes for its unilateral disclosure of North Korean soldiers’ transfer to South Korea and subsequent denial of a confidentiality agreement.
Lee’s warning marked an escalation in a diplomatic dispute that began after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed the previously undisclosed transfer of the two North Korean prisoners of war during his Sept. 23 address to the UN General Assembly.
“If Ukraine continues to refuse to acknowledge the facts and publicly apologize, we will take further measures,” Lee said in a post on X on Friday.
“This is a matter concerning the dignity of the Republic of Korea and its people, and we cannot overlook it,” he added, referring to South Korea by its official name
Lee made the remarks in an X post, citing a Korean news report on comments by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, who described the dispute as a “diplomatic misunderstanding” and expressed hope for a swift resolution, without offering the public apology Seoul has demanded.
Lee, point by point, accused Kyiv of a series of breaches, saying Ukraine had first requested confidentiality over the prisoners’ transfer, then disclosed it without Seoul’s consent and later denied any confidentiality agreement had existed.
“Ukraine requested confidentiality, and we agreed to keep the matter confidential, but Ukraine unilaterally disclosed it,” Lee said.
“When the president of the Republic of Korea, exercising the utmost courtesy, said it was regrettable, Ukraine denied that any such agreement existed, turning the head of state of another country into a liar,” Lee said.
Lee directly singled out a Sept. 25 statement by Dmytro Lytvyn, communications adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, denying that there was any confidentiality agreement over the transfer of the North Korean POWs, saying, “This is not true.”
The statement came one day after Lee said on X that Ukraine’s decision to disclose the transfer was “deeply regrettable,” explaining that the two sides had agreed to keep the POW transfer confidential after “considering various problems that its disclosure to the public could have caused.”
In an X post Friday, Lee broadened his criticism to recent remarks by Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Ukrainian presidential office, about rising tensions between the two Koreas.
“I express serious regret (disappointment) toward Ukraine, which, when asked to acknowledge the (confidential) agreement and apologize, instead spoke of an imminent military clash between South and North Korea, as if wishing for the outbreak of war on the Korean Peninsula,” Lee said.
In an interview with Newsforce on Sept. 27, Budanov cited a recent incident along the inter-Korean demarcation line and said tensions were escalating “by the day,” adding that it was “only a matter of time before a trigger event occurs that could lead to uncontrollable consequences.”
Budanov’s remarks came days after suspected North Korean mines exploded inside the Demilitarized Zone, injuring three South Korean soldiers on Sept. 21. South Korea’s military has said the mines were highly likely to have originated from North Korea.
Seoul had already stepped up diplomatic pressure on Kyiv before Lee’s latest intervention.
On Sept. 27, senior presidential secretary for public relations and communication Seong Ghi-hong demanded an official explanation and apology, saying Ukraine’s unilateral disclosure and subsequent denial of their confidentiality agreement risked seriously damaging bilateral relations.
The following day, First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo summoned Andrii Vieshkin, Ukraine’s acting ambassador in Seoul, to lodge a formal protest. Park demanded an official explanation and apology from the Ukrainian government and called for measures to prevent a recurrence.
As the dispute widened, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service offered its own assessment of why Zelenskyy had made the transfer public, telling lawmakers Wednesday that the disclosure appeared intended to build public support in South Korea for providing arms to Ukraine.
The spy agency also said Seoul had provided no assistance to Ukraine in connection with the POW transfer. The two North Korean soldiers arrived in South Korea in mid-September and were found to have no major health problems.
dagyumji@heraldcorp.com
