South Korea's Lee threatens action against Ukraine over transfer of North Korean soldiers

SEOUL: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Friday (Oct 2) Seoul would take "further measures" if Ukraine refuses to publicly apologise over what he called its unilateral disclosure of North Korean prisoners of war being sent to South Korea.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed last week that his country had sent two North Korean soldiers to the South, saying they were "not easy to capture alive".

Hours after Zelensky's remarks at the United Nations, South Korea's Lee expressed his dismay, with Seoul claiming confidentiality was key to protecting the prisoners of war's relatives from any repercussions in North Korea.

Seoul later demanded an official apology from Ukraine.

"If Ukraine continues to refuse to acknowledge the facts and publicly apologise, we will take further measures," said the South Korean President on Friday, accusing Kyiv of making him out to be a "liar".

"This is a matter concerning the dignity of the Republic of Korea and its people and cannot be overlooked," Lee posted on X.

Lee referred to an interview with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha published by RBC-Ukraine and other Ukrainian outlets on Thursday.

Sybiha said he would "not like to call it an incident", describing it instead as a "diplomatic misunderstanding".

"South Korea is an important country for us. And I very much hope for momentum, continued cooperation, and concrete results that we are indeed achieving with them," he said.