"Grandstanding for petty gain": South Korean president accuses Ukraine of breaching non-disclosure agreement

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has said that Ukraine has breached a non-disclosure agreement by publicly revealing the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea, and that making the information public could lead to numerous problems.

Source: Lee on social media; The Korea Times

Quote from Lee: "The repatriation of North Korean prisoners is an extremely sensitive issue with serious implications for diplomacy, national security and the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

For those who, regardless of the state of inter-Korean relations, possible loss of life or harm to national interests, would prefer to loudly announce the repatriation to the whole world in order to take credit for it, our government's decision not to disclose this information probably seems difficult to understand...

One cannot be so cruel and irresponsible when it comes to matters as vital as human lives and national security."

Details: Lee stressed that there had also been calls within the South Korean government to make information about the repatriation public, as this could have helped boost political approval ratings.

However, he said that the decision to keep the information confidential had been carefully considered in view of the various problems that a public announcement could cause.

"People who put human lives and national security at risk for their own petty gain are called murderers or traitors... I do not know the specific circumstances that prompted the Ukrainian side to breach the agreement and make the information public, but this is deeply regrettable," the South Korean president said.

Meanwhile, in response to a query from South Korean news agency Yonhap, the Office of the President stated that Ukraine had only announced the fact that the North Korean prisoners had been transferred to South Korea, without disclosing details of the process. The Ukrainian side said it would be strange to keep the event secret.

Background: During his address to the UN General Assembly, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine had recently transferred two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea.

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