South Korea considers recalling ambassador to Ukraine over North Korean POW dispute
South Korea is considering recalling its ambassador to Ukraine after saying Kyiv’s apology over the disclosure of the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to Seoul fell short of expectations, Yonhap reported on Oct. 6.
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said he had remained in contact with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha over the dispute and had received messages that included an apology.
“But there is a difference from the level we expect, so we intend to take firm measures,” Cho said during a parliamentary audit of his ministry.
He said the government was considering several options, including recalling South Korean Ambassador to Ukraine Park Hee-chang.
The dispute began after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed at the UN General Assembly last month that two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukrainian forces had been transferred to South Korea.
Seoul says the two governments had agreed from the outset to keep the transfer confidential to protect the soldiers and their families, who remain in North Korea. Cho said Ukraine had initially requested that the matter not be made public.
Zelenskyy’s communications adviser Dmytro Lytvyn previously denied that such an agreement existed, saying it would have been wrong to conceal what happened to the prisoners.
Sybiha has described the dispute as a “diplomatic misunderstanding” and said he hoped it could be resolved soon.
The two North Korean soldiers were captured in January 2025 while fighting alongside Russian forces in Russia’s Kursk region and arrived in South Korea in mid-September.
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