South Korea threatened Ukraine with "additional measures" over North Korean prisoners.
Seoul may take "additional measures" if Ukraine does not acknowledge the confidentiality agreement regarding the transfer of two prisoners of war from North Korea and does not issue a formal apology.
According to Censor.NET, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung stated this.
"If the refusal to acknowledge the facts and issue an official apology continues, we will take additional measures," the post states.
At the same time, Lee did not specify what measures South Korea might take. South Korean officials have previously emphasized that the dispute over prisoners should not automatically affect other areas of bilateral cooperation, including humanitarian aid to Ukraine and reconstruction projects.
What happened before that?
As a reminder, this refers to two North Korean soldiers who were captured by Ukrainian forces in January 2025 while fighting on Russia’s side in the war. They arrived in South Korea in September.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the handover during his address to the UN General Assembly. Following this, Seoul stated that the parties had agreed not to disclose information about the handover, in particular for the safety of the prisoners themselves and their families.
The Ukrainian side denies the existence of such an agreement. According to reports from the South Korean side, the issue of confidentiality was discussed at various levels; however, Kyiv does not agree with Seoul’s interpretation of the nature of this agreement.
