"Cruel and Irresponsible": South Korean President Criticizes Ukraine over POWs from the DPRK

The South Korean president, Yoon Suk Yeol, expressed regret over Ukraine's public statement about handing Seoul two North Korean prisoners of war. He said that making this information public violated prior confidentiality arrangements and could pose a security risk to people.

According to The Korea Times, the South Korean leader shared his position on the social network X, saying that publicizing the procedure was not appropriate.

How did Seoul critique Ukraine?

“It would have been prudent from all sides not to disclose this, given the numerous problems that disclosure could cause, and we agreed to proceed that way,” Yoon Suk Yeol noted.

The head of state stressed that the issue of transferring prisoners is extremely sensitive and can directly affect diplomacy, national security, and the overall situation on the Korean Peninsula.

Precisely because of the risk of diplomatic complications, Seoul and Kyiv initially agreed to a fully closed format of the procedure. Discussions about the process have continued since the prisoners themselves expressed a desire to move to South Korea.

Official Seoul authorities long refrained from confirming their arrival, fearing for the fate of the fighters themselves and their relatives who remain under the control of the North Korean regime.

Responding to criticism of the secrecy agreement, Yoon Suk Yeol called the public disclosure of such information a “cruel and irresponsible” move.

However, at the end of his statement, the South Korean president expressed hope for the swift conclusion of wars that take the lives of civilians.

Kyiv’s position and the international context

In response to a Yonhap agency request, the Ukrainian side explained that it disclosed only the fact of the prisoners’ transfer, without any technical or logistical details.

According to Ukrainian representatives, complete secrecy around this event would have caused unnecessary suspicion and questions.

The South Korean president’s statement appeared the day after Volodymyr Zelensky’s speech at the UN General Assembly in New York, where he publicly announced the transfer of two North Korean fighters to Seoul.

As Bloomberg previously reported, about 25 thousand North Korean citizens may be involved in drone gathering on the territory of Russia, including in Alabuga, where they are disguised as students to circumvent sanctions.

In addition, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has repeatedly voiced intentions to expand and deepen military cooperation with Moscow.