South Korea's Lee warns of additional measures over Ukraine POW disclosure dispute
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South Korean President Lee Jae Myung warned on Friday that Seoul will take additional measures if Ukraine continues to deny an agreement on the repatriation of North Korean prisoners of war. Lee called on Kyiv to acknowledge the agreement and apologize, accusing Ukraine of undermining South Korea's head of state. The warning came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed the transfer of two North Korean POWs last week.
Key Facts
- South Korean President Lee Jae Myung warned on Friday that Seoul will take additional measures if Ukraine continues to deny an agreement on the repatriation of North Korean POWs.
- Lee called on Kyiv to acknowledge the agreement and apologize, and expressed grave regret over Ukraine's response.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed the transfer of two North Korean POWs to South Korea last week.
- Seoul has accused Ukraine of breaching a bilateral agreement to keep the transfer secret, but Ukraine has denied the existence of the confidentiality agreement.
- Lee accused Ukraine of attempting to bring war on the Korean Peninsula by mentioning the possibility of an imminent inter-Korean military conflict.
The Warning
President Lee Jae Myung issued the warning on his X account amid a diplomatic wrangle with Ukraine over the POW transfer disclosure. Lee said that if Ukraine continues to deny the fact and refuse to offer an official apology, Seoul will take additional measures. He affirmed that Ukraine unilaterally disclosed the transfer despite having previously demanded confidentiality from South Korea. Lee accused Ukraine of making the head of state of the counterpart country a liar by saying the nondisclosure agreement did not exist.
Diplomatic Dispute
The dispute began after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's surprise disclosure last week of the transfer of two North Korean POWs to South Korea. Seoul has since accused Ukraine of breaching a bilateral agreement to keep the transfer secret, but Ukraine has denied the existence of the confidentiality agreement. Lee expressed grave regret over Ukraine's response, accusing Kyiv of undermining South Korea's head of state. He warned that remarks about an imminent military clash between North and South Korea amounted to invoking the risk of war on the Korean Peninsula.