S. Korean ambassador to Ukraine returns home amid dispute over N.K. POW disclosure
SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's ambassador to Ukraine returned home Sat...
South Korea recalled its ambassador to Ukraine on October 10 following Ukraine's disclosure of the transfer of North Korean prisoners of war (POWs) to Seoul. Ambassador Park Ki-chang returned home after two days, in response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's announcement and Kyiv's denial of agreeing to keep the matter confidential.
The two North Korean soldiers were captured in January 2025 while fighting for Russia in the Kursk region and arrived in South Korea in mid-September. Seoul claims a non-disclosure agreement was reached with Kyiv at Ukraine's request to protect the soldiers and their families, who remain in North Korea. Zelenskyy breached this agreement by revealing the transfer during a U.N.
General Assembly address last month. The recall is a rare move for South Korea, with the last ambassador recall occurring in 2008 when Seoul recalled its envoy to Japan.
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