South Korea withdraws eight diplomats from Ukraine amid dispute over North Korean POWs
South Korea has withdrawn eight diplomatic staff members from Ukraine amid an escalating dispute over Kyiv's public disclosure of the transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers to Seoul, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said on October 27.
Speaking during a parliamentary audit, Cho said the move followed South Korea's recall of its ambassador to Ukraine earlier this month. Seoul cited both the continued threat of Russian airstrikes and what it described as Kyiv's failure to adequately address the dispute, according to Yonhap.
"Eight have been withdrawn so far," Cho said, describing the decision as unavoidable.
The dispute began after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly disclosed the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea during his address to the UN General Assembly in September.
Seoul says the two countries had agreed to keep the transfer confidential to protect the soldiers and their families, who remain in North Korea. South Korea has demanded an official explanation, an apology and assurances that such a disclosure will not happen again.
Zelenskyy's office denies that any confidentiality agreement existed.
Cho warned that the disagreement could threaten diplomatic relations if tensions continued to escalate. However, he said essential diplomatic personnel remained in Ukraine and that he was continuing talks with his Ukrainian counterpart.
"I have continued communicating with the Ukrainian foreign minister to resolve the issue as soon as possible," Cho said.
The minister stressed that South Korea's broader support for Ukraine remained unchanged, including humanitarian assistance, participation in reconstruction conferences and international efforts to end the war.