South Korea is demanding an official explanation and apology from Ukraine, saying Kyiv broke a confidentiality agreement by publicly disclosing that it had transferred two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea; Ukraine disputes that an agreement existed.
President Volodymyr Zelensky disclosed the handover last week. His aide Dmytro Lytvyn said Zelensky had only made public that the soldiers were handed to South Korea and that a secret transfer would be unusual. Ukraine captured the two early last year among North Korean troops fighting for Moscow. Seoul said the Ukrainian presidential press office's denial of a confidentiality agreement further damaged trust and that it was considering additional measures.
South Korea has not supplied lethal weapons to Ukraine, citing a domestic ban on military aid to countries at war, but had been considering requests for defensive weapons, especially since North Korea deployed troops to support Russia. The dispute risks complicating Kyiv's arms requests; analyst Lim Eul-chul told AFP the damage to trust could make Seoul more cautious about both lethal and non-lethal supplies.
