President Lee Jae-myung said Seoul would take “further measures” if Ukraine refuses to publicly apologise over what he called its unilateral disclosure of North Korean POWs being sent to South Korea.
Hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed last week the transfer in remarks at the United Nations, South Korea’s Lee expressed his dismay, with Seoul claiming confidentiality was key to protecting the POWs’ relatives.
Seoul later demanded an official apology from Ukraine, saying that both sides had reached a “clear understanding” during consultations to keep the transfer confidential – citing concerns for the safety of the POWs’ families in North Korea.
“If Ukraine continues to refuse to acknowledge the facts and publicly apologise, we will take further measures,” said the South Korean President yesterday, accusing Kyiv of making him out to be a “liar”.
“This is a matter concerning the dignity of the Republic of Korea and its people and cannot be overlooked,” Lee posted on X.
Lee referred yesterday to an interview with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha published by RBC-Ukraine and other Ukrainian outlets on Thursday.
Sybiha said he would “not like to call it an incident”, describing it instead as a “diplomatic misunderstanding”.
“South Korea is an important country for us. And I very much hope for momentum, continued cooperation, and concrete results that we are indeed achieving with them,” he said. — AFP
