Seoul, Kyiv clash over confidentiality as N. Korean POW repatriation goes public

South Korea and Ukraine are publicly clashing over whether they agreed to keep the repatriation of two North Korean POWs confidential. Cheong Wa Dae defended its handling of the issue while Ukraine denied any silence agreement. The dispute followed Zelenskyy’s surprise U.N. announcement and has sparked domestic criticism of Lee Jae Myung.

RBC-Ukraine reported that Ukraine had not promised to keep the repatriation confidential, citing a source in the Ukrainian presidential office.

Dmitro Litvin, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, wrote that there was no agreement to remain silent.

The two North Korean soldiers were deployed to Russia as part of North Korea’s military support for Moscow and were captured by Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region in 2025.

The South Korean government said the repatriation should be handled according to the individuals’ wishes, domestic law, international legal considerations and humanitarian principles.

The main opposition People Power Party accused the government of keeping the repatriation under wraps to avoid provoking Pyongyang.

Published Sep 26, 2026 5:37 pm KST

President Lee Jae Myung shakes hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of their summit at a hotel in Ankara, Turkey, July 8. Yonhap

South Korea and Ukraine are offering conflicting accounts of whether they had agreed to keep the repatriation of two North Korean prisoners of war (POWs) to South Korea confidential, putting the two countries publicly at odds over the handling of the sensitive issue.

Cheong Wa Dae on Saturday stood by its handling of the repatriation but refrained from directly engaging with Ukraine's denial of a confidentiality agreement.

"I don't think it would be appropriate to respond in detail to each comment attributed to sources," a Cheong Wa Dae official, who was accompanying President Lee Jae Myung on his state visit to Mexico, told reporters.

"The government's position is to handle the matter in accordance with the principles it has consistently followed, including the wishes of the individuals concerned, procedures under domestic law, international legal considerations and humanitarian principles."

The comments came after RBC-Ukraine reported Friday that Ukraine had not promised to keep the repatriation confidential, citing a source in Ukraine's presidential office. The source told the outlet that "Ukrainians have the right to know" about the issue involving the prisoners.

Dmitro Litvin, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, also weighed in publicly, writing, "There was no agreement to remain silent," in response to a Facebook post by Oksana Torop, a media adviser to Ukraine's ambassador to the United Kingdom.

North Korea has yet to officially comment on the matter.

The disagreement surfaced after Zelenskyy made a surprise announcement during his address to the U.N. General Assembly that two North Korean POWs were sent to South Korea. The South Korean government subsequently accused Ukraine of violating a confidentiality agreement.

"The repatriation of North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea is a highly sensitive issue with significant implications for diplomacy, national security and the situation on the Korean Peninsula," Lee wrote on X on Thursday. "We believed it was appropriate in every respect to keep it confidential and that was what we agreed to do."

The conflicting accounts have also fueled political criticism of Lee at home. The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) has accused the government of keeping the repatriation under wraps to avoid provoking Pyongyang.

"The government is begging (North Korea) for a sham peace and capitulating in the face of all manner of provocations," PPP floor leader Rep. Jeong Jeom-sig said in a statement.

The two North Korean soldiers, deployed to Russia as part of North Korea's military support for Moscow, were captured by Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk region in 2025. Their capture became public after Zelenskyy released images of the prisoners. The two later expressed hopes to go to South Korea.

韩国和乌克兰就遣返两名朝鲜战俘一事是否达成保密协议公开交锋。青瓦台为其处理方式辩护，而乌克兰则否认存在任何保密协议。这场争端源于泽连斯基在联合国发表的出人意料的声明，并引发了韩国国内对李在明的批评。

RBC-Ukraine 报道称，乌克兰并未承诺对遣返行动保密，该报道援引了乌克兰总统办公室的消息人士的话。

总统弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基的顾问德米特罗·利特温写道，没有达成保持沉默的协议。

2025年，两名朝鲜士兵作为朝鲜对莫斯科的军事支持的一部分被部署到俄罗斯，并在俄罗斯库尔斯克地区被乌克兰军队俘虏。

韩国政府表示，遣返事宜应根据个人意愿、国内法律、国际法律考量和人道主义原则来处理。

主要反对党人民力量党指责政府为了避免激怒平壤，对遣返行动秘而不宣。

发布于2026年9月26日下午5:37（韩国标准时间）

7月8日，韩国总统李在明在土耳其安卡拉一家酒店与乌克兰总统泽连斯基举行峰会前握手。（韩联社）

韩国和乌克兰对于是否同意对两名朝鲜战俘遣返回韩国一事保密，说法不一，导致两国在处理这一敏感问题上公开产生分歧。

青瓦台周六坚持其对遣返事件的处理方式，但避免直接回应乌克兰否认存在保密协议一事。

陪同李在明总统对墨西哥进行国事访问的青瓦台官员告诉记者：“我认为详细回应每一条归因于消息来源的评论是不合适的。”

“政府的立场是按照其一贯遵循的原则处理此事，包括尊重相关个人的意愿、遵循国内法程序、考虑国际法律因素和人道主义原则。”

此前，RBC-Ukraine周五报道称，乌克兰并未承诺对遣返行动保密。该报道援引乌克兰总统办公室消息人士的话称，“乌克兰人民有权了解”有关囚犯的问题。

乌克兰总统泽连斯基的顾问德米特罗·利特温也公开表态，他在回应乌克兰驻英国大使媒体顾问奥克萨娜·托罗普在Facebook上的帖子时写道：“没有保持沉默的协议。”

朝鲜方面尚未对此事发表官方评论。

泽连斯基在联合国大会上突然宣布将两名朝鲜战俘送往韩国，此举引发了双方的分歧。随后，韩国政府指责乌克兰违反了保密协议。

李在周四发表于X上的一篇文章中写道：“将朝鲜战俘遣返回韩国是一个高度敏感的问题，对外交、国家安全和朝鲜半岛局势都具有重大影响。我们认为，无论从哪个方面来看，对此事保密都是合适的，这也是我们同意的做法。”

这些相互矛盾的说法也加剧了李在国内的政治批评。主要反对党国民力量党指责政府为了避免激怒平壤，而对遣返行动秘而不宣。

“政府正在乞求（朝鲜）虚假的和平，并在各种挑衅面前屈服，”人民进步党议会党团领袖郑严实议员在一份声明中说。

两名朝鲜士兵作为朝鲜向莫斯科提供军事支持的一部分被派往俄罗斯，于2025年在俄罗斯库尔斯克地区被乌克兰军队俘虏。泽连斯基公布了俘虏的照片后，他们的被捕事件才公之于众。两人后来表示希望前往韩国。