South Korea miffed after Ukraine reveals POW transfer

South Korean officials called for an apology from Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed an allegedly private prisoner transfer during his United Nations address last week. South Korean and international news outlets reported Monday on the statement by Seong Ghi-hong, a senior adviser to South Korean President Lee Jae Myung. North Korean soldiers have been used by Russia in the years since it invaded Ukraine, and the two POWs appeared in a broadcast interview earlier this year.

Ukraine sent two North Korean prisoners to Seoul recently, and they weren't easy to take alive, Zelenskyy told the UN General Assembly last Wednesday. Zelenskyy reported that one of the two prisoners tried to kill themselves to avoid capture.

So what’s the problem? South Korea accused Zelenskyy of violating a nondisclosure agreement around the transfer, enacted to keep the movement a secret. The repatriation of North Korean prisoners is a very sensitive issue with severe national security implications for the Korean peninsula, according to a statement last week from South Korean President Lee Jae Myung. Those who trumpeted the news of repatriation to receive international credit were not heeding their potential impact on inter-Korea relations, he continued.

South Korean leaders initially considered making the repatriation public, but ultimately decided to keep the movement confidential to keep everyone safe, Lee said. It was reasonable and justified to keep the repatriation secret, and those who jeopardize human lives for the sake of petty personal gain are traitors, the president continued. Lee didn’t know why Zelenskyy decided to break the confidentiality agreement, but added that the decision was deeply regrettable.