Seoul and Kyiv clash over a transfer that was meant to stay quiet

A transfer that was apparently supposed to stay out of public view has instead become the latest irritant between Seoul and Kyiv. South Korea has demanded an apology and an explanation after Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at the UN General Assembly that Ukraine had transferred two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea.

Lee Jae Myung, South Korea’s president, said on social media that the remarks undermined him and, in effect, raised the risk of conflict on the Korean Peninsula. He also said Seoul could not simply let the matter pass, arguing that it touched on the honour of the Republic of Korea. In diplomacy, even honour tends to arrive with a press release.

The dispute now turns on a familiar question: who said what, to whom, and whether anyone had agreed to keep it quiet. South Korean officials say Ukraine discussed the transfer through several channels and asked for secrecy. Kyiv says no secrecy agreement existed. The two versions sit uneasily alongside each other, which is often how diplomatic rows begin and rarely how they end.

The men at the centre of the row were identified as North Korean soldiers captured after fighting for Russia in the Kursk region. Zelenskyy referred to their transfer in his speech to the UN, and Seoul treated the disclosure as a breach of trust. It has since asked for an official apology and an explanation from Ukraine.

Lee also referred to comments by Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, in an interview published by RBC-Ukraine and other Ukrainian outlets on Thursday. Sybiha said he would not call it an incident, describing it instead as a diplomatic misunderstanding. He also said South Korea was an important country for Ukraine and expressed hope for continued cooperation and concrete results.

That softer language has not stopped the row from landing where it matters: in the relationship between two US-aligned states with sizeable militaries. The issue may look procedural, but it has wider consequences. It complicates efforts to present a united front around Russia, China and North Korea, and it shows how quickly a private arrangement can become a public liability once discretion gives way to disclosure.

For now, Seoul wants an apology and clarification. Ukraine says the secrecy South Korea refers to was never part of the deal. That leaves both sides with a familiar diplomatic burden: a public quarrel, a private disagreement, and no shortage of people pretending the distinction is subtle.

Written by Christiane Hofreiter christiane.hofreiter@alpineweekly.com