Row between Ukraine, South Korea mounts over North Korean POWs South Korea demands Ukraine apology over POW disclosure.
✓ Verified with 4 independent sources.
South Korea Illustrative image, not of the event Image: Korea.net / Korean Culture and Information Service (Jeon Han) / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0 ) Ukraine was seeking to mend ties with South Korea, Ukrainian media reported, quoting Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. The POWs were captured by Ukrainian forces early last year after being deployed alongside thousands of North Korean troops to support Russia's war against Ukraine.
✓ See how we verified it and its 4 sources✓ How we verified this storyConfirmed Seoul and Kyiv have been locked in a diplomatic dispute since Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced at the United Nations General Assembly last month that Ukraine had transferred two… — confirmed by: RTÉ News, Euronews South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Friday threatened Ukraine with "further measures" if Kyiv does not issue a public apology for revealing that North Korean POWs were sent to South Korea. — confirmed by: DW, Euronews South Korea’s President accused Ukraine of undermining him by disclosing POW transfer deal — confirmed by: Al Jazeera, Euronews South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has threatened unspecified measures against Ukraine unless Kyiv acknowledged a confidentiality agreement that Seoul says covered the transfer of two captured… — confirmed by: RTÉ News, Euronews Last week, Lee expressed his regret hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had disclosed the transfer of the soldiers while speaking at the United Nations — confirmed by: DW, Euronews "South Korea is an important country for us — confirmed by: DW, Euronews Attributed (not independently confirmed) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's disclosure of the transfer of North Korean prisoners of war to Seoul has caused a major diplomatic spat between Seoul and Kyiv — DW Since then, South Korea and Ukraine have been at loggerheads, with Seoul demanding an apology from Kyiv — DW Ukrainian media on Thursday cited Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha as saying that Kyiv is trying to mend ties with Seoul — DW Let's say, it's a diplomatic misunderstanding," Sybiha told journalists at an event — DW Ukraine was seeking to mend ties with South Korea, Ukrainian media reported, quoting Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha — RTÉ News The dispute comes at a sensitive time for Mr Lee's administration — RTÉ News This story was checked against 4 independent sources. We only report as fact what reliable sources confirm; anything not yet confirmed is flagged as such.
Sources This story is based on the following sources. We always link to the original.
Al Jazeera · News outlet · October 1, 2026 at 10:54 PM RTÉ News · News outlet · October 1, 2026 at 11:37 PM Euronews · News outlet · October 2, 2026 at 1:34 AM DW · News outlet · October 2, 2026 at 2:33 AM Timeline October 1, 2026 at 10:54 PM — Reported by Al JazeeraOctober 1, 2026 at 11:37 PM — Reported by RTÉ NewsOctober 2, 2026 at 1:34 AM — Reported by EuronewsOctober 2, 2026 at 2:33 AM — Reported by DWWritten by an automated system from cross-checked sources and passed through editorial controls. How it works → · Timeline · Report an error
