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South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Thursday that it had decided to recall its ambassador to Ukraine for consultations, Yonhap News Agency reported. The move comes after weeks of escalating tensions triggered by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s public comments last month about the transfer of two North Korean soldiers captured while fighting for Russia. The ministry said it hoped outstanding issues between the countries could be resolved smoothly through ongoing consultations with Ukrainian officials.
The two North Korean soldiers were captured in January 2025 in Russia’s Kursk region by Ukrainian forces, according to South Korean officials. They arrived in Seoul in mid-September after indicating a willingness to defect rather than return to North Korea, The Korea Herald reported. Seoul had insisted on confidentiality for the transfer due to risks facing the soldiers’ relatives back home and broader diplomatic sensitivities, a position Ukraine has disputed.
Zelenskyy revealed the transfer during his address to the United Nations General Assembly on September 23, stating that his country had sent two North Korean prisoners of war to the Republic of Korea. South Korean President Lee Jae-myung responded the next day on the social media platform X by expressing disappointment and accusing Ukraine of breaching an agreement to keep the matter secret, as detailed in reports from The Korea Times. Ukraine’s presidential office quickly denied any such confidentiality pact existed, prompting Seoul to summon Ukraine’s charge d’affaires to demand an explanation and formal apology.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called in Andrii Vieshkin on September 28 to convey grave concerns over the unilateral disclosure without prior consultation, according to an AFP dispatch. Foreign Minister Cho Hyun told lawmakers earlier this week that messages from his Ukrainian counterpart included an apology but fell short of expectations, leading to consideration of firmer measures. The recall of Ambassador Park Ki-chang represents one such step without severing diplomatic ties.
Ukrainian officials described the episode as a diplomatic misunderstanding and maintained there was no presidential-level agreement on non-disclosure, Chosun Ilbo reported. President Lee had warned on October 2 that additional actions would follow if Ukraine continued to reject Seoul’s account and refused a public apology. Kyiv’s foreign ministry spokesperson later stated that no formal apology had been issued, further complicating efforts to close the rift.
The case underscores North Korea’s deepening military cooperation with Russia, where Pyongyang has dispatched thousands of troops to support Moscow’s operations in Ukraine, according to multiple assessments by Western intelligence cited across regional outlets. One of the transferred soldiers told South Korean media he had been conscripted at age 17 into a reconnaissance unit, The Korea Herald added. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated its commitment to continued dialogue aimed at addressing all bilateral concerns stemming from the incident.
