Key facts
- Ukraine initially requested confidentiality for the transfer of two North Korean POWs to South Korea.
- Seoul's spy agency confirmed the two North Korean soldiers arrived in South Korea in mid-September.
- The National Intelligence Service (NIS) stated both countries had a shared understanding of confidentiality from the outset.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed the transfer during a UN address.
- South Korean President Lee Jae Myung claimed Ukraine breached a non-disclosure agreement.
- Ukraine's foreign ministry summoned the acting Ukrainian ambassador to express concern over Kyiv's denial of the agreement.
Ukraine was the first to request that the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war (POWs) to South Korea be kept confidential, Seoul's spy agency said Wednesday. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) informed the National Assembly's intelligence committee that both countries shared an understanding to maintain secrecy from the beginning of the process.
The two North Korean soldiers arrived in South Korea in mid-September and are reportedly in good health, according to committee members briefed by the NIS.
This statement comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed the transfer during a United Nations address last week. Following his disclosure, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and his office stated that Ukraine had violated a non-disclosure agreement intended to protect the soldiers from potential dangers. However, a Ukrainian presidential official was later reported to have denied the existence of such an agreement.
In response to the conflicting accounts, South Korea's foreign ministry summoned Andrii Vieshkin, the acting ambassador of Ukraine to South Korea, on Monday to express strong concern over Kyiv's denial of the confidentiality agreement.