Seoul warns ‘additional motion’ if Ukraine doesn’t apologise over prisoner-of-war row

South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung has threatened to take unspecified “additional motion” if Ukraine doesn’t subject a public apology for revealing that two North Korean prisoners of conflict had been despatched to the South.

Ukraine’s chief Volodymyr Zelensky made the disclosure to the UN normal meeting final week, angering Seoul, who mentioned the transfer was meant to remain secret.

Ukraine’s International Minister Andrii Sybiha on Thursday described the state of affairs as a “diplomatic misunderstanding”, including that Kyiv was “working” to resolve it.

Lee rejected this characterisation on X, saying it involved “the dignity of the Korean individuals and the nation”.

Lee’s workplace mentioned final week that it was Ukraine that requested for the transfer to be stored secret, partly to guard the North Koreans’ households, and in addition as a result of Kyiv wished to keep away from criticism that it had given up a possibility to trade the troopers for Ukrainian prisoners of conflict.

Zelensky’s workplace responded, saying the 2 international locations had no such settlement to maintain the transfer confidential, additional escalating the state of affairs.

Lee himself confronted heavy criticism at residence after Zelensky’s disclosure, with the South Korean opposition accusing him of masking up the switch to appease Pyongyang.

The 2 troopers, who have been amongst 1000’s of North Koreans supporting Russia within the Ukraine conflict, had earlier informed native media they wished to be despatched to South Korea.

Chatting with Ukrainian media on Thursday, Sybiha, the international minister, mentioned he “hopes that this case shall be resolved within the very close to future”.

“We’re engaged on it. For us, South Korea is a crucial nation. And I actually hope for momentum, continuation, and concrete outcomes that we’re really reaching with them,” he mentioned.

Lee, in response, accused Kyiv of trying to “carry conflict on the Korean Peninsula”.

“We categorical critical remorse that, as an alternative of acknowledging the information of the settlement and apologising, they’re speaking about an imminent navy conflict between the North and South,” he mentioned in an X put up.

Seoul has been sympathetic to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion, however has adhered to its longstanding coverage of not offering deadly weapons to any nation engaged in energetic conflict.