---
title: "South Korea Demands Official Apology from Ukraine Over Prisoner Scandal"
description: "South Korea's presidential office demands an apology from Ukraine for leaking the secret transfer of North Korean POWs and denying confidentiality agreements."
date: 2026-09-28T00:52:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/south-korea-demands-apology-from-ukraine-over-prisoners
tags: [south-korea, ukraine, north-korea, diplomatic-conflict, kursk]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# South Korea Demands Official Apology from Ukraine Over Prisoner Scandal

![South Korean presidential office and national flags](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/28/yuzhnaya-koreya-trebuet-izvineniy-ot-ukrainy-iz-za-plennyh/yuzhnaya-koreya-trebuet-izvineniy-ot-ukrainy-iz-za-plennyh-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- Seoul demands an official apology from Kyiv for disclosing the transfer of North Korean POWs.
- Ukraine allegedly violated confidentiality terms by announcing the details at the UN General Assembly.
- The North Korean soldiers were captured in the Kursk region in January 2025.

The presidential office of South Korea has issued a sharp demand for official explanations and an apology from the Ukrainian side. The unprecedented diplomatic crisis was triggered by an incident involving the transfer of two captured North Korean military personnel who had previously fought alongside the Russian army and were captured by Ukraine's Defense Forces in the Kursk region.

### Essence of the Diplomatic Conflict and Seoul's Accusations

According to a statement by Senior Presidential Secretary for Public Relations Song Ki-heon, Kyiv violated previously agreed confidentiality terms. Seoul claims that the Ukrainian side itself insisted on keeping the operation secret due to fears of domestic criticism in Ukraine over a missed opportunity to exchange the Korean prisoners for Ukrainian servicemen. South Korea agreed to this step out of humanitarian security considerations, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy openly announced the soldier transfer from the UN General Assembly rostrum.

### Contradictory Data

This incident clearly reveals contradictions in the official statements of both sides. The leadership of South Korea, including President Lee Jae-myung and advisor Song Ki-heon, insists on the existence of a strict verbal or written non-disclosure agreement regarding the prisoner transfer. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian side reportedly denied the existence of any such secret agreements following the UN speech. Such discrepancies have severely undermined trust between Seoul and Kyiv, threatening future bilateral security cooperation.

### Background and Humanitarian Aspects

To recap, two North Korean servicemen were captured by Ukrainian troops in Russia's Kursk region back in January 2025, becoming the first living North Korean prisoners of war since Pyongyang joined the conflict. The prisoners themselves expressed a desire to go to South Korea. Seoul had long refused to officially confirm their arrival, citing concerns for the safety of the defectors and their relatives remaining in the North. Now, due to the public disclosure of information, bilateral diplomatic relations have suffered a major blow.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Южная Корея требует от Украины официальных извинений из-за скандала с пленными](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/pivdenna-koreya-vimagae-vid-ukrayini-ofitsiynih-1790556572.html) - Официальные требования офиса президента Южной Кореи и заявления советника Сон Ки Хона.
- [Сеул готов принять северокорейцев, попавших в плен в Украине](https://www.dw.com/ru/seul-gotov-prinat-severokorejcev-popavsih-v-plen-v-ukraine/a-77667894) - Контекст приема пленных из КНДР и гуманитарные соображения безопасности.
- [Зачем глава МИД Украины впервые за 11 лет прилетел в Сеул](https://www.rbc.ru/politics/29/06/2026/6a424cb39a7947811dc14fa7) - Дипломатический фон двусторонних отношений Украины и Южной Кореи.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: Why is South Korea demanding an apology from Ukraine?
**A:** Seoul accuses Kyiv of breaching a confidentiality agreement and unilaterally disclosing information about the transfer of North Korean prisoners.

### Q: When and where were the North Korean soldiers captured?
**A:** Two North Korean servicemen were captured by Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region in January 2025.