South Korea’s Lee Demands Ukrainian Apology Over Disclosure of North Korean POW Transfer

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has warned that Seoul will take “additional measures” if Ukraine refuses to offer an official apology over its public disclosure of the transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea, according to The Korea Times. Mr Lee made the remarks in a post on X on 2 October 2026.

The Dispute

The row began when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed the previous week that Ukraine had sent two North Korean soldiers to South Korea, adding that they were “not easy to capture alive”, Euronews reported on 28 September. Seoul says Kyiv had asked that the transfer be kept confidential and then disclosed it unilaterally. According to The Korea Times, Mr Lee said Ukraine had then denied that a confidentiality agreement existed, in effect making the South Korean head of state a “liar”, and that if Kyiv continued to deny the facts and refused to offer an official apology, Seoul would take additional measures.

Presidential secretary Seong Ghi-hong demanded an official explanation and apology, Euronews said.

Kyiv’s Position

Ukraine rejects the South Korean characterisation. Presidential aide Dmytro Lytvyn argued that confirming the transfer was not the disclosure of a secret and described Ukraine as an “open country”, according to Euronews. Ukraine has denied that a binding confidentiality agreement existed. Neither government has published the terms of any arrangement, so the competing accounts cannot be checked against a document.

Why It Matters

The disagreement is small in scale but sits on a sensitive fault line. Euronews noted that the row risks complicating Kyiv’s requests to Seoul for arms supplies, so friction between the two governments could influence that debate. It also illustrates a recurring problem in wartime diplomacy: informal assurances about confidentiality are easily contested when they are not written down, and public statements can carry diplomatic costs. How both capitals handle the next few days will show whether this stays a dispute over process or becomes a lasting strain.