South Korea withdraws eight diplomatic personnel amid dispute with Ukraine over POW transfer

In their own words

Grouped by where each speaker is from. Quotation marks are the speaker's own words; other lines are our summaries.

No statements from the government or officials of North Korea are in our sources.

Where accounts differ

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Other voices

Reactions from other countries and bodies, others involved, and commentary.

Timeline

1. 2025-01

   In January 2025, Ukrainian forces captured the two North Korean soldiers in Russia’s Kursk region while they were fighting for Russia.

   Sources: Yonhap News Agency

   Supporting statements

   Zelenskyy disclosed that Kyiv had transferred the two North Korean soldiers, who had been captured in January 2025 while fighting for Russia in the Kursk region.

2. Ukraine sent the two prisoners to South Korea before Zelenskyy’s disclosure, according to Zelenskyy.

   Sources: The Hindu

   Supporting statements

   “Recently, we sent two North Korean prisoners of war to the Republic of Korea”

3. 2026-09-23

   On September 23, 2026, Zelenskyy disclosed the transfer in an address to the U.N. General Assembly.

   Sources: The Hindu · The Hankyoreh

   Supporting statements

   “Recently, we sent two North Korean prisoners of war to the Republic of Korea”

   Zelensky disclosed the repatriation to South Korea of two North Korean prisoners of war at the 81st UN General Assembly in New York on September 23.

4. 2026-09-24

   On September 24, Lee said Ukraine had disclosed the transfer in breach of a nondisclosure agreement and called the disclosure regrettable.

   Sources: Yonhap News Agency · Asahi Shimbun

   Supporting statements

   Lee said South Korea and Ukraine had agreed to keep the transfer confidential because disclosure was expected to cause many problems.

   Lee said he did not know why Ukraine had publicly disclosed the matter in violation of a confidential agreement and called the disclosure very regrettable.

   As quoted in Japanese, with a machine translation

   “非公開の合意を破って公開したウクライナ側にどんな事情があるのかは分からないが、非常に残念だ”

   Machine translation: “I don’t know what circumstances led the Ukrainian side to make public an agreement that was not to be disclosed, but it is very regrettable.”

5. 2026-09-24

   On September 24, Ukraine’s presidential office said the transfer followed direct dialogue with Seoul, that it had disclosed only the destination and that sending the prisoners in secret would have been strange.

   Sources: Yonhap News Agency

   Supporting statements

   The Ukrainian presidential office described the matter as highly sensitive and as involving direct discussions with South Korea.

   The office said the full circumstances were extensive but that it had disclosed only that the prisoners were sent to South Korea.

   As quoted in Korean, with a machine translation

   “이 사안의 전체 경위는 길고 상세하지만, 우리는 그 가운데 이들을 대한민국에 보냈다는 사실만 알렸다”

   Machine translation: “The full circumstances of this matter are long and detailed, but we only informed them of the fact that we had sent them to the Republic of Korea.”

   The office said it would have been strange for Ukraine to send prisoners captured by its forces somewhere in secret.

   As quoted in Korean, with a machine translation

   “우리 군인들이 포로로 잡은 이들을 어디론가 그저 비밀리에 보내는 것은 이상한 일이었을 것”

   Machine translation: “It would have been strange if our soldiers had simply secretly sent those they captured as prisoners somewhere.”

6. 2026-09-26

   Three days after Zelenskyy’s disclosure, Lytvyn denied that a nondisclosure agreement existed and said concealing the prisoners’ destination would be wrong.

   Sources: Yonhap News Agency · Ukrainska Pravda

   Supporting statements

   Lytvyn said no such undisclosed agreement existed and that the claim is untrue.

   “And it would be wrong to conceal where particular prisoners are being sent”

7. 2026-10-06

   At an Oct. 6 parliamentary audit, Cho said messages from Sybiha included an apology, but it fell short of Seoul’s expectations.

   Sources: Yonhap News Agency

   Supporting statements

   “Messages that I received (from Sybiha) included an apology.”

   “But there is a difference from the level we expect, so we intend to take firm measures”

   Cho said the government was considering options that included recalling its ambassador to Ukraine.

8. 2026-10-08

   On October 8, South Korea announced it had decided to recall Ambassador Park Ki-chang to Seoul.

   Sources: Ukrainska Pravda · Yonhap News Agency

   Supporting statements

   South Korea's Foreign Ministry announced on 8 October that it was recalling its ambassador to Ukraine amid a dispute over disclosure of information about North Korean prisoners of war.

   “The government has decided to recall its ambassador to Ukraine to Seoul”

9. 2026-10-10

   Ambassador Park returned to South Korea on October 10, two days after the recall announcement.

   Sources: The Korea Herald

   Supporting statements

   Park arrived two days after the ministry announced the recall in response to Zelenskyy's disclosure and Kyiv's denial of a confidentiality agreement.

10. 2026-10-12

    On October 12, Ukraine maintained that the dispute arose from differing interpretations of a confidentiality agreement.

    Sources: Yonhap News Agency

    Supporting statements

    Ukraine maintains that the dispute between the two countries arose from differing interpretations of a confidential agreement.

11. 2026-10-18

    On October 18, Yoon Ji-wan said the two countries had not discussed a disclosure timeline but shared a preference to keep discussions confidential as long as possible; he said the embassy was caught off guard and Ukraine had not given a specific reason for Zelenskyy’s disclosure.

    Sources: Yonhap News Agency

    Supporting statements

    “We had no discussions on a timeline for disclosure, but we did share the idea that confidentiality should be maintained for as long as possible”

    The South Korean embassy in Ukraine was caught off guard when Zelenskyy revealed the repatriation.

    Ukraine has not yet given a specific explanation for why Zelenskyy made the disclosure.

12. 2026-10-20

    On October 20, Park said Seoul had decided to withdraw some embassy staff; officials said roughly half of the staff would leave.

    Sources: The Hankyoreh · Yonhap News Agency · The Korea Herald

    Supporting statements

    “Taking these factors into account, the government has decided to withdraw some of its embassy staff”

    Roughly half of the staff would leave Ukraine, officials said.

    The Foreign Ministry plans to withdraw approximately half of its embassy staff.

13. 2026-10-27

    On October 27, Cho said eight diplomatic personnel had been withdrawn from Ukraine so far.

    Sources: Yonhap News Agency

    Supporting statements

    Cho says eight diplomatic personnel have been withdrawn from Ukraine so far.

Coverage

Each outlet's headline, linked to its article. Non-English headlines are machine-translated. The groupings and notes on what each outlet emphasises are automated.

Our outlets in North Korea didn't cover it. No statements from the government or officials of Russia or United States are in our sources.

More detail

Written by our automated pipeline from the statements in the coverage; each point lists the statements it rests on.