Seoul says written proof of NK POW secrecy deal exists

South Korea said Friday it has written proof that it and Kyiv agreed to keep the transfer of two North Korean POWs secret, as President Lee Jae Myung warned Ukraine to apologize or face additional measures. The dispute deepened after Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed the transfer in his U.N. General Assembly speech on Sept. 23. Seoul says diplomatic records support its position, while Ukraine denies any confidentiality deal existed. South Korea and Ukraine are discussing wording for a possible Ukrainian statement, including an apology.

A senior foreign ministry official said negotiations on the POW transfer had been underway since the previous South Korean administration and that nondisclosure was a prerequisite from the outset.

A South Korean diplomat said written records of the agreement with Kyiv exist, but cannot be made public because diplomatic documents are not disclosed in principle.

The two foreign ministers are in direct text communication, and Seoul and Kyiv are discussing the wording of a possible Ukrainian statement, including an apology.

Andrii Sybiha described the dispute as a diplomatic misunderstanding and said he hoped it would be resolved quickly while preserving cooperation with South Korea.

Published Oct 2, 2026 4:33 pm KST

Updated Oct 2, 2026 5:51 pm KST

Lee warns of 'additional measures' if Ukraine refuses to apologize

President Lee Jae Myung delivers a speech during a ceremony for the 30th Senior Citizens Day in Seoul, Friday. Yonhap

South Korea says it has written documents proving that Seoul and Kyiv agreed to keep the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war (POWs) secret, as President Lee Jae Myung warned Friday that Seoul will take "additional measures" if Ukraine refuses to apologize for disclosing the transfer.

The remarks are expected to deepen diplomatic standoff between the two countries after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the transfer during his U.N. General Assembly address on Sept. 23. Kyiv has denied any confidentiality agreement existed, while Seoul insists one was clearly in place and that Ukraine broke it.

A senior foreign ministry official laid out Seoul's account of events in detail on Friday.

"It is clear that the two countries agreed to keep the transfer secret," the official told reporters. "The Ukrainian side notified the South Korean side that Zelenskyy would make a speech at the U.N. General Assembly, without specifying its content. The South Korean side responded by text, saying it wanted Zelenskyy not to breach the agreement between the two nations on keeping the transfer secret — which Ukraine subsequently broke."

The official added that negotiations on the POW transfer had been underway since the previous South Korean administration, with nondisclosure as a prerequisite from the outset.

"There is no plan on disclosure because we had to take into consideration the POWs and their families. Considering the cases of other North Korean defectors, we wanted to keep the case secret from beginning to end," the official said.

A South Korean diplomat said that written records of the agreement with Kyiv exist, though they cannot be made public.

"Whenever talking to counterparts, we document the discussions from the beginning. The South Korean government officials, including President Lee and Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, make official comments based on the documents with Kyiv. However, diplomatic documents cannot be disclosed in principle," the diplomat told The Korea Times.

The official added that the two foreign ministers are in direct text communication and that Seoul and Kyiv are discussing the wording of a potential Ukrainian statement, including an apology, though no agreement has been reached on its scope.

North Korean prisoners of war captured by Ukraine in the Kursk region / Captured from President Zelenskyy's X (formerly Twitter) account

Earlier on Friday, Lee expressed strong regret over Ukraine's disclosure, urging it to apologize. Otherwise, Lee said, South Korea would take additional measures.

“We agreed to keep the transfer secret upon Ukraine's request, but Kyiv unilaterally disclosed it. I expressed regret as courteously as possible, but Kyiv publicly made the president a liar by denying the agreement," Lee wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

He added that Ukraine's suggestion of an impending inter-Korean clash was a stance that "seemingly seeks to provoke war on the Korean Peninsula."

"If Ukraine keeps refusing to admit the agreement and apologize, we will take additional measures. I cannot overlook the situation because it is a matter of the dignity of South Korean citizens and their country," Lee wrote.

Ukraine's foreign minister sought to de-escalate, describing the row as a "diplomatic misunderstanding" rather than an incident.

"I very much want this situation to be resolved in the short term, and we are working on it. South Korea is an important country for us," Andrii Sybiha was quoted as saying by RBC-Ukraine , expressing hope for continued cooperation.

韩国周五表示，已掌握书面证据，证明韩基辅曾就两名朝鲜战俘的移交达成保密协议。与此同时，韩国总统李在明警告乌克兰，若不道歉，将面临进一步制裁。此前，乌克兰总统泽连斯基在9月23日联合国大会的演讲中披露了此事，导致双方争端加剧。首尔方面称，外交记录支持其立场，而乌克兰则否认存在任何保密协议。韩国和乌克兰正在商讨乌克兰可能发表的声明措辞，其中可能包括道歉。

一位外交部高级官员表示，战俘移交谈判从上届韩国政府时期就开始了，而且从一开始就要求保密。

一位韩国外交官表示，与基辅达成的协议有书面记录，但原则上外交文件不予公开，因此无法公开。

两国外长正在直接进行文字沟通，首尔和基辅正在讨论乌克兰可能发表的声明措辞，包括道歉。

安德烈·西比哈将这场争端描述为外交误会，并表示希望在保持与韩国合作的同时，尽快解决这一争端。

发布于2026年10月2日下午4:33（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年10月2日下午5:51（韩国标准时间）

李警告称，如果乌克兰拒绝道歉，将采取“进一步措施”。

周五，韩国总统李在明在首尔出席第30届韩国老年人节庆祝活动并发表讲话。（韩联社）

韩国表示，已掌握书面文件证明首尔和基辅同意对两名朝鲜战俘的移交保密。此前，韩国总统李在明周五警告称，如果乌克兰拒绝就泄露移交事件道歉，首尔将采取“进一步措施”。

预计这些言论将加深两国之间的外交僵局。此前，乌克兰总统泽连斯基在9月23日联合国大会上宣布了这一移交决定。基辅否认存在任何保密协议，而首尔则坚称存在这样的协议，并且乌克兰违反了该协议。

周五，一名外交部高级官员详细阐述了首尔方面对事件的描述。

“很明显，两国同意对此次移交保密，”这位官员告诉记者。“乌克兰方面通知韩国方面，泽连斯基将在联合国大会上发表讲话，但没有具体说明讲话内容。韩国方面以短信回复，表示希望泽连斯基不要违反两国之间关于对移交保密的协议——而乌克兰随后违反了该协议。”

该官员补充说，战俘移交谈判从上届韩国政府时期就开始了，从一开始就将保密作为先决条件。

“我们没有公开此事的计划，因为我们必须考虑到战俘及其家属的感受。鉴于其他朝鲜脱北者的案例，我们希望从头到尾对此事保密，”这位官员说。

一位韩国外交官表示，与基辅达成的协议有书面记录，但这些记录不能公开。

“每次与对方会谈，我们都会从一开始就记录讨论内容。包括李明博总统和赵显赫外长在内的韩国政府官员会根据这些文件向基辅方面发表官方评论。但是，外交文件原则上不能公开，”这位外交官告诉《韩国时报》。

该官员补充说，两国外长正在直接进行短信沟通，首尔和基辅正在讨论乌克兰可能发表的声明的措辞，包括道歉，但尚未就声明的范围达成一致。

乌克兰在库尔斯克地区俘获的朝鲜战俘 / 图片来自泽连斯基总统的 X（原推特）账号

周五早些时候，李明博对乌克兰的泄密行为表示强烈遗憾，并敦促乌克兰道歉。李明博表示，否则韩国将采取进一步措施。

“我们同意应乌克兰的要求对这笔转账保密，但基辅单方面披露了此事。我尽可能礼貌地表达了歉意，但基辅公开否认了这项协议，让总统成了骗子，”李在X（前身为Twitter）上写道。

他还补充说，乌克兰暗示即将发生朝韩冲突，这种立场“似乎意在挑起朝鲜半岛战争”。

李明博写道：“如果乌克兰继续拒绝承认协议并道歉，我们将采取进一步措施。我不能对这种情况视而不见，因为这关系到韩国公民及其国家的尊严。”

乌克兰外交部长试图缓和局势，将这场争端描述为“外交误会”，而不是一起事件。

据 RBC-Ukraine 报道，安德烈·西比哈表示：“我非常希望这种情况能在短期内得到解决，我们正在努力。韩国对我们来说是一个重要的国家。”他同时表达了对继续合作的希望。