Ukraine gave notice before public disclosure of North Korean POW transfer

Filed 1h ago · Via NV · The Buffoon Desk

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Kevin MacLeod · incompetech.com · CC BY 4.0

Photo: UNCTAD · CC BY-SA 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

A senior South Korean official says Ukraine warned Seoul in advance that President Zelenskyy might mention the transfer of two North Korean POWs in his UN speech, though Seoul didn't know exactly what he'd say. The two governments had reportedly agreed to handle the repatriation quietly, and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called Zelenskyy's public disclosure a breach of that understanding.

Zelenskyy told the UN that Ukraine recently sent two North Korean prisoners, captured in Kursk Oblast in January 2025, to South Korea, describing one soldier's suicide attempt upon capture. Ukraine's office disputes that any confidentiality agreement existed at all.

Seoul says the disagreement won't affect its broader support for Ukraine, insisting the two matters are being handled separately.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.

✒ FROM THE EDITORIAL DESK

Two allies agree they had an understanding and disagree entirely on what it was, which is about the most honest description of diplomacy you'll get all week. Somebody whispered a secret at a party and now both sides are annoyed for opposite reasons. The war grinds on regardless of who told whom what in which hallway.

Source: Read the original at NV → Scored: Duet Musette · Kevin MacLeod · CC BY 4.0

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