Why South Korea is demanding an apology from Ukraine over North Korean PoWs
Seoul says Kyiv agreed to a nondisclosure agreement over the prisoners but broke it.
South Korea has demanded an official apology and explanation from Ukraine after accusing Kyiv of disclosing the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to Seoul.
Seong Ghi-hong, senior presidential secretary for public relations, said in a statement on Sunday that the president’s office expressed “strong regret over Ukraine’s unilateral disclosure and its subsequent false announcement that there had not been a non-disclosure agreement”.
He said Ukraine had repeatedly discussed the prisoners’ transfer with Seoul through various channels and had requested secrecy.
South Korea is technically still at war with North Korea because the two opponents in the 1950-1953 Korean War signed an armistice in 1953 and not a peace treaty. Thousands of US soldiers are stationed in South Korea, and the two allies hold military exercises regularly, which the North has denounced.