South Korean President Threatens Action Against Ukraine Over North Korean Soldiers

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol threatened on Friday to take unspecified measures against Ukraine unless Kyiv acknowledges what Seoul describes as a secret agreement regarding the transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers and issues an apology.

In a post on X, Yoon said, “If the refusal to acknowledge the facts and to offer a public apology continues, I will take additional measures.”

Yoon also expressed “deep regret” over what he described as Ukrainian remarks about an impending military clash between the two Koreas, stating that such comments amount to incitement to war on the Korean Peninsula.

Seoul and Kyiv have been engaged in a diplomatic dispute since Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced last month at the United Nations General Assembly that his country had transferred to South Korea two North Korean prisoners of war who had been fighting alongside Russia.

Seoul subsequently accused Kyiv of violating an agreement that required maintaining the secrecy of the transfer operation to protect the soldiers, while Ukrainian officials denied the existence of such an agreement.

This dispute arises at a sensitive time for Yoon’s administration, which is seeking to ease tensions with North Korea while also dealing with the political fallout from a recent landmine incident in the demilitarized zone.