Ukraine's disclosure of North Korean POW transfer to South Korea sparks diplomatic dispute
Ukraine transferred two captured North Korean soldiers to Seoul in mid-September 2026, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly confirmed the move during the UN General Assembly on September 23. South Korean President Lee Jae-myung accused Ukraine the next day of breaching a nondisclosure agreement, while Kyiv denies any such deal existed, escalating a diplomatic rift between two countries with sharply different stakes in the war.
Key points
- Two North Korean POWs, captured in Russia's Kursk region in January 2025, arrived in South Korea in mid-September 2026 with no major health issues, per the NIS.
- On September 23, President Zelenskyy announced the transfer during his UN General Assembly speech; on September 24, President Lee Jae-myung accused Ukraine of violating a nondisclosure agreement.
- South Korea's National Intelligence Service says Ukraine first requested confidentiality, citing concerns over future prisoner exchanges; Ukraine, citing a source in the Office of the President, denies any such agreement existed.
- South Korea's Foreign Ministry summoned Ukrainian Chargé d'Affaires Andrii Veshkin and said Ukraine's denial 'seriously undermines' mutual trust.
- The NIS briefed lawmakers that Zelenskyy likely disclosed the transfer to rally South Korean public support for supplying weapons to Ukraine.
- South Korea has provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine but has refrained from sending weapons under its policy of not arming countries at war.
- Koreanist Mykola Polishchuk suggested Lee Jae-myung may have intended to hand the two soldiers to Kim Jong Un for North Korean propaganda use.
Why it matters
The episode has opened an unusual diplomatic channel between Kyiv and Seoul — two countries linked by North Korea's deployment to fight Russia — but the fallout risks damaging a relationship with a country that has backed Ukraine with humanitarian aid while declining, under long-standing policy, to send weapons. South Korea's intelligence service assesses that Zelenskyy made the disclosure to pressure Seoul into supplying arms, raising the political cost of the dispute. The two POWs could also become a propaganda tool for Pyongyang if repatriated.
What happened
Ukraine transferred two North Korean soldiers, captured in the Kursk region in January 2025, to South Korea in mid-September 2026. Both expressed a wish to resettle in the South while in Ukrainian custody and arrived without major health problems, according to South Korea's National Intelligence Service. On September 23, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the transfer publicly during his speech at the UN General Assembly. The following day, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said Ukraine had violated a nondisclosure agreement, calling the issue 'extremely sensitive' and tied to 'diplomacy and national security.' Seoul says Ukraine itself first requested confidentiality, citing worries about future prisoner exchanges, and that Kyiv warned Seoul in advance through diplomatic channels that Zelenskyy planned to mention the POWs at the UN. Ukraine, through a source in the Office of the President, denies that any confidentiality deal existed. South Korea's Foreign Ministry summoned Ukrainian Chargé d'Affaires Andrii Veshkin to express serious concern, and the presidential administration said Ukraine's denial 'seriously undermines' mutual trust and harms friendly relations. The NIS told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing that Zelenskyy likely disclosed the transfer to rally South Korean public support for supplying weapons and other assistance to Ukraine, and that no apology or expression of regret had been received from Kyiv through any channel.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian-language coverage foregrounds Koreanist Mykola Polishchuk's suggestion that President Lee Jae-myung likely intended to hand the two soldiers over to Kim Jong Un, where they would be made into heroes for North Korean propaganda — recasting South Korea as the potential end-user of the transfer rather than its aggrieved party. Ukrainian reporting also highlights the NIS account that Ukraine first requested confidentiality of the transfer, shifting attention to South Korea's subsequent public handling of the affair.
How international sources describe it
English-language reporting frames Zelenskyy's UN announcement as a likely calculated play to win South Korean public and political support for arms deliveries to Ukraine, citing the NIS assessment. International coverage stresses the diplomatic damage: Seoul's accusation of a breached nondisclosure agreement, the summoning of Ukraine's chargé d'affaires, and the warning that the dispute could set back a bilateral relationship with a country that has so far limited itself to humanitarian aid.
Where reporting differs
Kyiv and Seoul disagree on whether any confidentiality agreement ever existed: South Korea, citing the NIS, says Ukraine first requested secrecy and that both sides agreed to keep the transfer quiet, while Ukraine, via a source in the Office of the President, denies any such deal. They also disagree on whether Kyiv pre-warned Seoul about Zelenskyy's UN speech — Seoul says Ukraine gave advance notice through diplomatic channels and asked for understanding, while Ukraine maintains that without an agreement there was nothing to breach.
Background
The two North Korean soldiers were captured in Russia's Kursk border region in January 2025, one of thousands Pyongyang sent to support Russia's war effort. South Korea's NIS estimates roughly 9,000 North Korean troops have been engaged in surveillance operations in Kursk. North Korea has historically framed large defections as abductions or luring by the South. South Korea's longstanding policy bars arms deliveries to countries actively at war, which has shaped its support for Ukraine to humanitarian and non-lethal assistance.