Editor's note: this story was translated from the original VOA Ukrainian article.
South Korea said on Thursday it was recalling its ambassador to Ukraine following a dispute over the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war which Seoul says violated a confidentiality agreement reached with Kyiv.
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun during testimony before the parliament on Thursday said that Ukraine has apologized for disclosing information about the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to Seoul, but insisted the gesture did not meet the appropriate level.
He said the apology was expressed in a communication from Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha.
"Messages that I received (from Sybiha) included an apology. But there is a difference from the level we expect, so we intend to take firm measures," he said.
The diplomatic tension between the two countries emerged after Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed the transfer of the two North Korean prisoners to South Korea during his address to the U.N. General Assembly on September 23.
Ukrainian Armed Forces captured the two North Korean soldiers during an operation in Russia’s Kursk region in January 2025, the first North Korean troops to be captured alive. North Korea has sent an estimated 14,000 troops, millions of artillery shells and other armaments, aiding Russia in its war against Ukraine.
Seoul said the two sides had agreed to keep the matter confidential because of security and humanitarian concerns, including fears for the safety of the prisoners’ families in North Korea, and called for Ukrainian authorities to apologize. Kyiv has denied that there was a clear agreement to this effect.
During a briefing at Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry in Kyiv on October 7, Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said that in his communication with Cho Hyun, Sybiha expressed regret that the situation had reached the stage of an exchange of critical public comments.
“I think you can see the difference between what the Korean side said and what was actually said,” Tykhyi said, adding that Ukrainian officials attribute the exchange of critical statements to a “difference in the interpretation of agreements concerning confidentiality arrangements.”
Tykhyi told the press that diplomatic efforts were underway to resolve the issue.
Fuel factor
In addition to the dispute over the transfer of North Korean prisoners, bilateral relations between Seoul and Kyiv have also been strained by the alleged shipment of fuel supplies from South Korea to Russia.
The British newspaper The Guardian published the results of an investigation which found that 176,000 tons of fuel were shipped from South Korean ports to Russia in July and August this year, with some of the cargo transported allegedly by tankers under the European and British sanctions. Ukraine’s sanctions commissioner Vladyslav Vlasiuk said on October 6 that the supplies helped ease Russia’s fuel crisis.
The South Korean presidential office rejected Vlasiuk’s statement on October 7, calling it “inappropriate.” Responding to The Guardian report, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said the government strictly complies with export controls on Russia and “supports and actively participates in global efforts to end the war in Ukraine and achieve peaceful recovery".
Experts react
The Pentagon in 2024 warned that if North Korean troops enter the conflict, they could become legitimate targets for the Ukrainian soldiers. Also, the transport of South Korea fuel by sanctioned tankers could be a concern at a time when the alliance between Russia and North Korea deepens, as well as their growing ties with Iran and China.
U.S. experts expressed hope that the diplomatic tensions between South Korea and Ukraine would not harm bilateral cooperation as well as the broader trilateral cooperation between South Korea, Ukraine and the United States.
Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, South Korea has provided Ukraine with more than $730 million in non-military assistance, according to the Kiel Institute tracker. At the latest NATO summit in July, the South Korean government pledged an additional $100 million in aid.
Ukraine, for its part, is a valuable source of information for Seoul about North Korea’s military capabilities and tactics, as well as other characteristics of modern warfare.
“All three countries [Ukraine, South Korea and U.S.] have a major stake in understanding what the North Koreans are up to, what the Russians are up to, where this ongoing cooperation, which has been very significant, is going in the future,” says Evans Revere, a former principal deputy assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the State Department.
“It has obvious frontline implications for Ukraine and its own security and safety.”
Sydney Seiler, Senior Adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) emphasized that Korea should continue providing non-lethal assistance to Ukraine because the reasons behind that decision have not disappeared.
“It would be unfortunate if somehow in some punitive type of way, aid and assistance were curtailed,” says Seiler, a former national intelligence officer. “This is so crucial when you consider the current situation on the ground, the hardships the Ukrainian people, Ukrainian military are undergoing because of this protracted war.”
Eunjung Cho, VOA Korean, contributed to this report.