The disclosure of information regarding the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war (POWs) to South Korea has drawn expressions of regret from President Lee Jae Myung, who stated that Seoul and Kyiv had agreed not to publicize details of the matter due to its sensitivity and potential consequences.
President Lee Jae Myung wrote about this in a post on the social network X, emphasizing that the issue of repatriating North Korean POWs is extremely sensitive and could have implications for diplomacy, national security, and the situation on the Korean Peninsula.
"It was appropriate in every aspect not to disclose, considering many problems it may cause when disclosed, and (we) had agreed to do so," Lee said in a post on his X account.
He emphasized that the issue of the repatriation of North Korean prisoners of war has significant implications for diplomacy, national security, and the situation on the Korean Peninsula.
Lee also stated that he was unaware of the specific circumstances that prompted the Ukrainian side to violate the agreement and release the information, but expressed deep regret over the matter.
In addition, the South Korean president responded to criticism from opposition parties regarding the confidentiality agreement. He stated that disclosing information about the transfer could have jeopardized human lives and national security, and that the decision to keep it secret was made with the potential consequences in mind.
For its part, The Korea Times reports that a South Korean presidential official, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated that Seoul was aware in advance of Ukraine's plans to announce the transfer. According to the official, Ukraine had informed the South Korean side of these plans but provided only vague details and did not specify exactly how the transfer would be presented.
The publication also highlights that Ukrainian forces captured two North Korean soldiers in January 2025, after they—along with thousands of other DPRK troops—had been deployed to Russia's Kursk region to support Moscow in the war against Ukraine.
In response to an inquiry from the Yonhap news agency, the Office of the President of Ukraine stated that only the fact of the North Koreans' transfer to South Korea had been disclosed, without details regarding the process, noting that completely concealing the transfer would have been odd.
As previously reported, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking at the UN General Assembly's general debate in New York, emphasized that Ukraine had recently sent two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea. "Recently, we sent two North Korean prisoners of war to the Republic of Korea… These guys are not easy to capture alive. One of them, when he realized he was going to be taken prisoner, tried to kill himself. And he was shocked that fate did not let him die," he said.
