Seoul to pull embassy staff from Kyiv over North Korea prisoner disclosure

South Korea has decided to withdraw some staff from its embassy in Ukraine in an escalating dispute over Kyiv’s disclosure that it had transferred North Korean prisoners of war to the South.

Seoul said it made the decision due to “the absence of any constructive steps by the Ukrainian side following the recall of South Korea’s ambassador to Ukraine,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Park Doo-soon, told a briefing Tuesday.

“The difficulty of ensuring the personnel’s safety amid the persistent threat of airstrikes across Ukraine,” was also a factor, Park added.

The announcement comes less than two weeks after South Korea said it was recalling its ambassador to Ukraine, deepening a diplomatic rift between the two countries. Seoul has demanded a public apology from Kyiv for allegedly violating an agreement they had made to keep confidential any transfer of North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea.

“We have already conveyed our government’s position to the Ukrainian side through various channels. Despite those efforts, we concluded that there were no constructive steps, which led us to make this decision,” Park said. 

South Korea will continue necessary diplomatic communication with Ukraine through its acting ambassador and maintain consular staff to ensure the safety of its citizens, the ministry added.

The dispute erupted after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an address to the United Nations General Assembly last month that Ukraine had recently sent two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukrainian forces to South Korea. Seoul said Kyiv disclosed the transfer in breach of a confidentiality agreement and without adequate consultation.

While North Korea has sent troops to aid Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine, Seoul has long resisted calls from Western partners to tap into its vast military stockpiles with direct transfers of weapons or ammunition to Ukraine, choosing instead to help Kyiv through the provision of other aid.