South Korea warns 'further measures' if Ukraine refuses public apology

SEOUL, October 2 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung has warned South Korea will take additional measures if Ukraine continues to refuse an official apology for disclosing the transfer of North Korean POWs to South Korea. The warning was made on the president's X account amid a diplomatic dispute with Ukraine over the surprise disclosure by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week.

Seoul has accused Ukraine of breaching a bilateral agreement to keep the transfer secret, but Ukraine denies the existence of the confidentiality agreement. If Ukraine persists in denying the fact and refusing to offer an official apology, South Korea will take additional measures, Lee stated.

Lee emphasized that Ukraine unilaterally disclosed the transfer despite previously demanding confidentiality from South Korea. He then turned the tables on the Ukrainian leader, calling him a "liar" for claiming the nondisclosure agreement did not exist.

Responding to South Korea's demand for an admission of the agreement and an apology, Ukraine has instead suggested the possibility of an imminent inter-Korean military conflict, Lee alleged. This, he said, is an attempt by Ukraine to provoke war on the Korean Peninsula, which he expressed serious regret over.