South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has demanded that Ukraine acknowledge an alleged confidentiality agreement concerning the transfer of two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukrainian forces.
Lee Jae Myung said that South Korea and Ukraine had agreed not to disclose information about the transfer. According to the South Korean president, however, the details were later made public without Seoul's consent.
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Lee Jae Myung said he expressed regret over the disclosure and was subsequently told by the Ukrainian side that no such confidentiality agreement had existed. He is now demanding that Ukraine recognize the alleged agreement.
The South Korean president also warned that “further measures” could be taken if Ukraine does not acknowledge the arrangement. He did not specify what measures he was referring to.
The dispute concerns two North Korean military personnel captured by Ukrainian forces and subsequently transferred to South Korea. Their transfer is significant because they could provide information about North Korea's military involvement in russia's war against Ukraine.
Lee Jae Myung's position also comes against the background of his previously stated caution toward military support for Ukraine. In 2023, when then-South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol raised the possibility of providing military assistance to Ukraine, Lee Jae Myung, who was then an opposition politician, urged the government not to take such a step.
At the time, Lee Jae Myung cited potential risks to South Korean companies operating in russia as one of the reasons for opposing military assistance to Ukraine. His current dispute with Kyiv therefore adds another point of tension to discussions between the two countries over North Korea's involvement in the war.
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