South Korea, Ukraine relations sour over North Korean POW transfer

The report into the explosion in Demilitarized Zone threatens to provoke renewed tension between the two Koreas.

South Korea demanded an apology from Ukraine for “unilaterally and abruptly” revealing that Kyiv transferred North Korean prisoners-of-war — captured fighting for Russia — to Seoul.

The South Korean government has been caught off guard by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s revelation that two North Korean soldiers have been handed over to Seoul’s custody, fearing the effect it will have on inter-Korean relations.

The leftist government of South Korea demanded a public apology on Sunday from the government of Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelensky told the United Nations General Assembly last week that his troops had captured North Korean soldiers on the battlefield – and sent them to the South.