South Korea warns ‘further measures’ if Ukraine refuses public apology

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has warned of "further measures" if Ukraine fails to apologize for disclosing the transfer of North Korean POWs to South Korea, a move Seoul insists should have remained confidential to protect the POWs' families.

This disclosure, announced by Ukrainian President Zelensky, has garnered criticism from Seoul, which argues it could endanger the POWs' relatives.

Analysts suggest this incident highlights a diplomatic misunderstanding, potentially complicating Ukraine's prisoner exchanges with Russia, while also reflecting inconsistencies in South Korea's approach to North Korean issues.

SEOUL, Oct 2 — South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said today Seoul would take “further measures” if Ukraine refuses to publicly apologise over what he called its unilateral disclosure of North Korean POWs being sent to South Korea.

Seoul has taken a hard stance on Ukraine disclosing the transfer of two soldiers captured fighting for Russia, warning that their families could be targeted by Pyongyang.

The POWs were captured by Ukrainian forces early last year after being deployed alongside thousands of North Korean troops to support Russia’s war against Ukraine, in exchange for economic and military assistance to Pyongyang.

Hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky disclosed last week the transfer in remarks at the United Nations, South Korea’s Lee expressed his dismay, with Seoul claiming confidentiality was key to protecting the POWs’ relatives.

Seoul later demanded an official apology from Ukraine, saying that both sides had reached a “clear understanding” during consultations to keep the transfer confidential — citing concerns for the safety of the POWs’ families in North Korea.

“If Ukraine continues to refuse to acknowledge the facts and publicly apologise, we will take further measures,” said the South Korean President today, accusing Kyiv of making him out to be a “liar”.

“This is a matter concerning the dignity of the Republic of Korea and its people and cannot be overlooked,” Lee posted on X.

Analysts say that from South Korea’s perspective, keeping the transfer of the POWs confidential may have partly been for Ukraine’s sake, as making it public could have complicated Kyiv’s own prisoner exchanges with Russia.

In domestic South Korean politics, however, Seoul’s approach “could prove problematic”, Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University, told AFP, given the current administration’s dovish approach to the nuclear-armed North.

“The government has acted swiftly in this case involving Ukraine, while exercising extreme caution over the North Korean landmine incident (that injured South Korean soldiers). That contrast could leave the public deeply dissatisfied.”

‘Diplomatic misunderstanding’

Lee referred today to an interview with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha published by RBC-Ukraine and other Ukrainian outlets yesterday.

Sybiha said he would “not like to call it an incident”, describing it instead as a “diplomatic misunderstanding”.

“South Korea is an important country for us. And I very much hope for momentum, continued cooperation, and concrete results that we are indeed achieving with them,” he said.

North Korea is known to retaliate against defectors and their families.

Both POWs are identifiable as they had been photographed by South Korean media before their arrival to the South.

Seoul’s spy agency said that Zelensky may have disclosed the transfer of the North Korean soldiers to boost public support in South Korea for Seoul providing arms to Ukraine, a lawmaker said Wednesday.

South Korea has in recent years emerged as a major arms exporter — particularly since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 — including through a multibillion-dollar arms deal with Poland.

But it has refrained from supplying Kyiv with lethal weapons, citing its longstanding policy of not arming countries engaged in active conflicts. — AFP

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韩国总统李在明警告称，如果乌克兰不就向韩国泄露朝鲜战俘移交一事道歉，韩国将采取“进一步措施”。首尔方面坚称，为了保护战俘家属，此事本应保密。

乌克兰总统泽连斯基宣布的这一消息遭到了首尔方面的批评，首尔方面认为这可能会危及战俘家属的安全。

分析人士认为，这一事件凸显了外交上的误解，可能会使乌克兰与俄罗斯的囚犯交换复杂化，同时也反映出韩国在处理朝鲜问题上的立场不一致。

首尔，10月2日——韩国总统李在明今天表示，如果乌克兰拒绝就其单方面披露朝鲜战俘被送往韩国一事公开道歉，首尔将采取“进一步措施”。

首尔对乌克兰披露两名为俄罗斯作战而被俘士兵移交一事采取了强硬立场，并警告称，他们的家人可能会成为平壤的攻击目标。

这些战俘于去年年初被乌克兰军队俘虏，此前他们与数千名朝鲜士兵一起被部署到乌克兰，以支持俄罗斯对乌克兰的战争，作为对平壤提供经济和军事援助的交换条件。

乌克兰总统泽连斯基上周在联合国发表讲话，披露了这一移交行动。几个小时后，韩国总统李明博表示失望，首尔方面则声称保密是保护战俘家属的关键。

首尔方面随后要求乌克兰正式道歉，称双方在磋商期间已达成“明确共识”，将此次移交保密——理由是担心朝鲜战俘家属的安全。

“如果乌克兰继续拒绝承认事实并公开道歉，我们将采取进一步措施，”韩国总统今天表示，并指责基辅方面把他描绘成一个“骗子”。

“这事关大韩民国及其人民的尊严，不容忽视，”李在X上发帖说。

分析人士表示，从韩国的角度来看，对战俘移交保密可能部分是为了乌克兰的利益，因为公开此事可能会使基辅与俄罗斯的战俘交换变得复杂。

然而，明知大学政治学教授申烈告诉法新社，鉴于现任政府对拥有核武器的朝鲜采取鸽派立场，首尔的做法在韩国国内政治中“可能会带来问题”。

“政府在乌克兰事件中行动迅速，但在朝鲜地雷事件（导致韩国士兵受伤）中却极其谨慎。这种反差可能会让公众深感不满。”

“外交误会”

李今天提到了昨天 RBC-Ukraine 和其他乌克兰媒体对乌克兰外交部长安德烈·西比哈的采访。

Sybiha表示他“不想称之为事件”，而是将其描述为“外交误会”。

“韩国对我们来说是一个重要的国家。我非常希望我们与他们能够保持目前的势头，继续合作，并取得我们正在取得的切实成果。”他说道。

众所周知，朝鲜会对脱北者及其家人进行报复。

这两名战俘的身份都可以辨认出来，因为他们在抵达韩国之前曾被韩国媒体拍到过照片。

一名议员周三表示，首尔情报机构称，泽连斯基可能披露了朝鲜士兵的转移，以提升韩国民众对首尔向乌克兰提供武器的支持。

近年来，韩国已成为主要的武器出口国——尤其是在俄罗斯于 2022 年初入侵乌克兰之后——包括通过与波兰达成的数十亿美元的武器交易。

但欧盟一直没有向基辅提供致命性武器，理由是其长期以来不向卷入冲突的国家提供武器的政策。——法新社

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