MEXICO CITY — A dispute between Seoul and Kyiv continues over Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's disclosure that two captured North Korean soldiers had been transferred to South Korea. The South Korean government says such cases are handled privately, based on the wishes of those involved, domestic and international legal standards and humanitarian principles, while Ukrainian officials say no confidentiality agreement existed in the first place.
The Presidential Office said on the 26th that "responding in line with consistent principles is our government's position," addressing the controversy over the disclosure of the POW transfer.
Zelenskyy had earlier revealed that two North Korean soldiers taken prisoner were sent to South Korea. President Lee Jae-myung said the disclosure "broke a non-disclosure agreement" and that he found it "very regrettable."
A senior Presidential Office official also told reporters the previous day that "in our consultations with Ukraine, there was an understanding that the process would not be disclosed and would be handled quietly," adding that "it is a fact that President Zelenskyy referred to it in his speech, contrary to that understanding."
Ukrainian officials offered a different account. On the 25th, the Ukrainian outlet RBC-Ukraine, citing a source in the presidential office, reported that Ukraine had not promised to keep the matter secret.
The source said Ukraine does not conceal information on matters involving prisoners of war, adding that the POW issue is a sensitive one and that Ukrainians have a right to know what is happening in relation to prisoners, according to RBC-Ukraine.
The dispute also played out in Ukraine. According to Interfax-Ukraine and Ukrainska Pravda, Dmytro Lytvyn, communications adviser to Zelenskyy, denied claims that the two countries had agreed not to disclose the transfer of the North Korean prisoners.
Lytvyn pushed back after Oksana Torop, media adviser to Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine's ambassador to the United Kingdom, posted on Facebook criticizing Zelenskyy's disclosure. Lytvyn said no such agreement existed and that Torop's claim was untrue. He also argued that concealing where particular prisoners are sent is itself wrong.
The Presidential Office did not respond directly to the Ukrainian rebuttal.
Meeting reporters at a press center set up in Mexico City for President Lee's state visit to Mexico, a Presidential Office official was asked about the remarks by the Ukrainian source and said it did not seem appropriate to respond point by point to comments from a source, adding, "I will not answer that."
Instead, the official said, "Our government's position is to respond in line with consistent principles — the principles a senior Presidential Office official described yesterday, namely the wishes of those involved, domestic and international legal standards and humanitarian principles."
