South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has threatened unspecified measures against Ukraine unless Kyiv acknowledges an alleged confidentiality agreement over the transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers and issues an apology.
“If the refusal to acknowledge the facts and issue a public apology continues, we will take additional measures,” Lee said in a post on X.
Lee also expressed “grave regret” over Ukrainian remarks about an imminent military clash between North and South Korea, saying they amounted to encouraging war on the Korean Peninsula.
The dispute began after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced at the United Nations General Assembly last month that Ukraine had transferred two North Korean prisoners of war, captured while fighting for Russia, to South Korea.
Seoul subsequently accused Ukraine of violating an agreement to keep the transfer confidential to protect the soldiers. Ukrainian officials, however, said no such agreement existed.
Ukraine has since sought to repair relations with South Korea, Ukrainian media reported, quoting Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.
“I would not like to call this an incident. Let’s say, it’s a diplomatic misunderstanding,” Sybiha told journalists at an event, according to Ukrainian media reports.
The dispute comes as Lee’s administration seeks to ease tensions with North Korea while dealing with political fallout from a recent landmine incident in the Demilitarised Zone.
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Cho Han-bum, a senior fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul, said any additional measures would likely involve South Korean support already provided to Ukraine, including humanitarian, financial and reconstruction assistance.
“Ukraine has more to lose than South Korea because it is receiving support from Seoul,” Cho said.
South Korea has provided humanitarian and financial assistance to Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion and pledged an additional $100 million in non-lethal support in July on the sidelines of the NATO summit.
However, Cho said neither side would benefit from a prolonged confrontation, noting that South Korea also relies on Ukraine for information about North Korea’s military activities.
