Spy agency says Ukraine first requested confidentiality over transfer of N. Korean POWs
Ukraine was the first to ask the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war (POWs) to South Korea be kept a secret, Seoul's spy agency said Wednesday, adding the two countries had a shared understanding to keep the transfer confidential from the beginning of the transfer process. In a briefing to the National Assembly's intelligence committee, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) also said…
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) of South Korea reported that Ukraine was the first to request confidentiality for the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war (POWs) to South Korea. According to the NIS briefing to the National Assembly's intelligence committee, both countries agreed to maintain the transfer's confidentiality from the beginning.
The two North Korean soldiers arrived in South Korea in mid-September and were reported to be in good health. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the transfer during a United Nations address last week. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and his office later claimed that Ukraine had violated a nondisclosure agreement to protect the soldiers from potential dangers if their transfer was disclosed.
However, a Ukrainian presidential official later denied the existence of such an agreement. The South Korean foreign ministry was also quoted in the report.
Brief written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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