Seoul suspects Zelenskyy revealed N.Korean POW transfer to win arms support
SEOUL: South Korea’s spy agency believes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy may have disclosed the transfer of two North Korean POWs to boost public support in South Korea for providing arms to Ukraine, a lawmaker said Wednesday.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) of South Korea revealed on Wednesday that Ukraine was the first to request the confidentiality of a transfer involving two North Korean prisoners of war (POWs) to South Korea. The NIS stated that both countries had agreed from the outset to maintain the transfer's secrecy. According to the NIS briefing to the National Assembly's intelligence committee, the two North Korean soldiers arrived in South Korea during mid-September and were reported to be in good health.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine announced the transfer during a United Nations address last week. However, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and his office contended that Ukraine had violated a confidentiality agreement intended to safeguard the soldiers from potential dangers if their transfer was disclosed. Later, a Ukrainian presidential official reportedly denied the existence of such an agreement. The South Korean foreign ministry confirmed the matter on Monday.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
