South Korea will pull staff from Kyiv over North Korean POW handover made public at the UN
Korean officials put the cut at about half the embassy’s staff. Ukraine’s foreign minister calls the matter closed.
South Korea plans to reduce its embassy staff in Kyiv by half following the public disclosure of a secret North Korean prisoner of war (POW) transfer to Seoul. The Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Park Doo-soon, revealed on October 20 that this decision stems from Kyiv's failure to maintain confidentiality regarding the transfer, which was intended to safeguard the soldiers and their families in North Korea.
Seoul had previously expressed concerns through multiple channels but received no satisfactory response from Kyiv, according to Park. The move is seen as a response to a dispute with the host government, which could have broader implications. Good relations with Kyiv are valuable for South Korea as Ukraine might share intelligence on North Korea's collaboration with Russia and battlefield experience.
However, the South Korean government insists the embassy will retain a chargé d'affaires and all consular staff to maintain diplomatic connections and protect South Korean citizens.
Written by urgent.news from Euromaidan Press's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
