NEW YORK, USA – SEPTEMBER 22: South Korean President Lee Jae-Myung will address the 81st United Nations General Assembly, gathering leaders and senior representatives of United Nations member states, to be held in New York, USA on September 22, 2026.
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South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on Friday criticized Ukraine for revealing it handed over North Korean prisoners to Seoul, demanded a public apology and threatened “additional measures” against Kiev.
In a post on X, Lee said that despite requesting secrecy and later claiming there was no non-disclosure agreement, Kiev unilaterally revealed that some captured North Korean soldiers were sent to South Korea, making South Korean leaders look like “liars.”
“This is an issue that concerns the people and national honor of the Republic of Korea and cannot be overlooked,” he said in Korean, translated by Google.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sibikha described the incident on Thursday as a “diplomatic misunderstanding” and was quoted as saying his country looked forward to resolving the misunderstanding. Sibiha added that Seoul remains an important partner for Kyiv.
confidentiality agreement
At last week’s United Nations General Assembly, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kiev had sent two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea.
In response, South Korea accused Ukraine of violating a confidentiality agreement regarding the transfer and summoned Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires for an explanation. The South Korean government also said after the speech that the Ukrainian side asked for the transfer to be kept secret as it could have a negative impact on the prisoner exchange with Russia.
“When we demanded recognition of the agreement and an apology, they instead spoke of an impending military conflict between the two Koreas and prayed for war to break out on the Korean peninsula. We express our deep regrets to Ukraine,” Lee said on Friday.
The comments follow an interview last week with Ukraine’s presidential chief of staff, Kirillo Budanov, in which he said North Korea’s participation in the Ukraine-Russia conflict was in preparation for fighting on the Korean peninsula.
“The situation is escalating day by day, and it is only a matter of time before a triggering event occurs that leads to an uncontrollable outcome,” he added, according to a Google translation of the Telegram post in Ukrainian.
There was no explanation from Kyiv as to why Mr. Zelensky made the announcement at the U.N. General Assembly, but South Korea’s National Intelligence Service reportedly told lawmakers that Mr. Zelenskyy may have done so to drum up support in Seoul for Kiev’s sending of weapons and other aid.
In August, President Zelensky asked South Korea to help Ukraine by providing air defense systems, but South Korea has not cooperated, although it has provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
