- Zelensky disclosed Ukraine sent two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea, breaking a confidentiality agreement, South Korean President Lee said.
- Lee called the public revelation disappointing and said the matter was highly sensitive for diplomacy, security and the Korean Peninsula situation.
- Opposition politicians criticized Lee's administration for learning of the arrivals from a foreign leader rather than being informed first.
- Zelensky aide Dmytro Lytvyn defended disclosure, saying Ukraine is open and only reported the fact they were sent to South Korea.
- Ukraine captured the two North Korean soldiers early last year; South Korea treats all Koreans as citizens under its constitution.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky broke a confidentiality agreement by disclosing that Ukraine had sent North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea, Seoul’s president said on Thursday.
The remarks by President Lee Jae Myung came after Zelensky told the United Nations that Ukraine had sent two North Korean soldiers to the South, adding they were “not easy to capture alive”.
The revelation prompted South Korea’s political opposition to criticise the Lee administration for allowing a foreign leader to inform them of the prisoners’ arrivals.
“I do not know why the Ukrainian side broke the agreement and made the matter public, but it is very disappointing,” Lee said on X.
“The issue of bringing North Korean prisoners to South Korea is a highly sensitive one that could have a major impact on diplomacy, security and the situation on the Korean Peninsula,” he said.
Lee said there had been calls to disclose the arrivals, but “given the problems that could arise from making it public, we agreed that keeping it confidential was the right thing to do”.
Zelensky’s aide Dmytro Lytvyn told journalists that Ukraine was “an open country” and that it would have been strange to hand over the soldiers in secret.
“From the entire story –- which is long and detailed –- we reported only the fact itself, that they were sent to the Republic of Korea,” he said.
Early last year, Ukraine captured two North Korean soldiers among Pyongyang’s troops fighting for Moscow.
A South Korean lawmaker had previously said the pair wanted to live a “normal life” in the South.
Under South Korea’s constitution, all Koreans, including those living in the North, are considered citizens, and officials have said this would apply to any North Korean troops captured in Ukraine.
