South Korean president threatens to take action against Ukraine over claims of North Korean POW transfer

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has threatened to take certain measures against Ukraine if Kyiv fails to acknowledge a confidentiality agreement that Seoul claims covered the handover of two North Korean prisoners of war and issue an apology.

Source: Lee Jae-myung on X (Twitter), as cited by Reuters

Quote from Lee: "If the refusal to acknowledge the facts and issue a public apology continues, we will take additional measures."

Details: The South Korean president did not specify what measures he was referring to.

Lee also expressed "grave regret" over what he described as Ukrainian remarks about an imminent military clash between North and South Korea, noting that they amounted to encouraging war on the Korean peninsula.

Seoul and Kyiv have been engaged in a diplomatic dispute since last month when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced at the UN General Assembly that Ukraine had handed over two North Korean prisoners of war, captured while fighting for Russia, to South Korea.

Following this, Seoul accused Kyiv of violating a confidentiality agreement meant to protect the soldiers, whereas Ukrainian officials denied the existence of any such agreement.

At the same time, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha noted that Ukraine is seeking to resolve the dispute and improve relations with South Korea.

Quote from Sybiha: "I would not like to call this an incident. Let's say, it's a diplomatic misunderstanding."

Details: He made this statement to journalists on Thursday.

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