South Korea to withdraw more embassy staff from Ukraine amid North Korean POW dispute
South Korea will withdraw additional personnel from its embassy in Kyiv, citing Ukraine's lack of a satisfactory response to a dispute over the disclosure of the transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers, Reuters reported on October 20, citing Seoul's Foreign Ministry.
The move follows South Korea's decision earlier this month to recall its ambassador to Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly announced that the two prisoners had been transferred to South Korea.
Seoul says the disclosure violated an understanding to keep the transfer confidential to protect the soldiers and their families in North Korea. Ukrainian officials have denied that any such confidentiality agreement was breached.
South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson Park Doo-soon said Seoul had communicated its concerns to Kyiv through multiple channels but had not received a sufficient response.
“This measure was taken because we judged it necessary to facilitate an amicable resolution of the issue and restore trust between the two countries,” Park said.
He did not specify how many embassy employees would be withdrawn.
A chargé d’affaires and all consular staff will remain in Kyiv to maintain diplomatic communication and assist South Korean nationals, Park said. He also cited continued Russian air strike threats as a concern for embassy personnel's safety.
Last week, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Kyiv considered the dispute closed, attributing it to differing interpretations of confidentiality arrangements and insisting Ukraine had fulfilled its obligations.
The dispute began after Zelenskyy disclosed the prisoners' transfer during his address to the UN General Assembly. South Korea subsequently recalled its ambassador and demanded an apology from Ukraine.
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