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

The President of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol, expressed regret over Ukraine’s public statement about handing Seoul two prisoners of war from North Korea. He said that publicly sharing this information violated prior confidentiality agreements and could pose a threat to the safety of people.

According to The Korea Times, the South Korean leader posted his position on X, stating that public airing of this procedure was unwarranted.

How did Seoul criticize Ukraine?

“It was appropriate not to disclose this from all sides, given the numerous issues that could be caused by disclosure, and we agreed to proceed this way,” Yoon Suk Yeol noted.

The head of state emphasized 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. Discussion of the process has continued since the prisoners themselves expressed a desire to move to South Korea.

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

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

However, at the end of his statement, the South Korean president expressed hope for the quickest possible end to the wars that claim the lives of civilians.

Kyiv’s position and the international context

In response to Yonhap News Agency’s 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 aroused unnecessary suspicion and questions.

The South Korean president’s statement appeared the day after Volodymyr Zelensky’s address to the United Nations 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 assembly on Russian territory, including in Alabuz, where they are masked as students to evade sanctions.

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