The South Korean president's office has demanded an explanation and an apology from Ukraine. Seoul accuses Kyiv of publicly disclosing the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea, and then falsely claiming there had never been a confidentiality agreement.

"The presidential office deeply regrets Ukraine's unilateral move and its subsequent untrue claim that there was no confidentiality agreement," Song Ki-hong, the president's senior secretary for public relations, said on Sunday. He added that the government is considering further steps if necessary.

Who asked for what

Seoul's version is detailed. Ukraine talked to Seoul about the transfer several times, through different channels, and itself asked that it not be made public. Kyiv's argument, according to Seoul, was that disclosure could provoke a bad reaction from the Ukrainian public, who would see it as a missed chance to swap the two North Koreans for Ukrainian prisoners held in Russia. South Korea agreed to secrecy for security, diplomatic and humanitarian reasons - above all for the safety of the prisoners themselves and their families.

Then, according to Seoul, Ukraine put the information out without adequate consultation in President Volodymyr Zelensky's speech to the UN General Assembly, and later denied that any confidentiality agreement had existed. Last week, from the UN podium, Zelensky confirmed that Ukraine had transferred to South Korea the two North Korean soldiers captured fighting on Russia's side.

President Lee Jae-myung had already said that Kyiv broke the agreement. On X he wrote that it had been "entirely right not to disclose" the information given the possible consequences, and that the two sides had agreed on this beforehand. "I don't know what circumstances led the Ukrainian side to break the confidentiality agreement and disclose this, but I deeply regret it," Lee wrote. The Ukrainian embassy in Seoul did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The price of one sentence

Ukraine captured the two North Koreans in Russia's Kursk region in January 2025. They were the first North Korean soldiers taken alive since Pyongyang entered the war on Russia's side in 2024. Seoul long refused to confirm their arrival, fearing for their safety and for the relatives who stayed behind in North Korea. According to an opposition MP in Seoul, talks about the transfer began after the soldiers themselves said they wanted to go to South Korea.

The row comes at a bad time: South Korea is trying to revive dialogue with Pyongyang, and Donald Trump is again signalling readiness for diplomatic contact with North Korea. Song warned that the denial had seriously damaged trust between the two governments and could jeopardise bilateral relations.

The Balkans know all about agreements made "between four eyes": they hold until it becomes more profitable for someone to talk. Here one side says there was a deal, the other says there wasn't. Caught in the middle are two soldiers Pyongyang sent to die in someone else's war, and their families in North Korea - and it was precisely for their safety that Seoul asked for silence. Was anyone at that podium in New York thinking about them?