Cho Hyun: "Received Ukraine's Apology, but Falls Short of What We Expected"

▲ Foreign Minister Cho Hyun takes an oath on October 6 during a parliamentary audit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and related agencies held by the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun stated regarding the diplomatic friction over keeping the repatriation of North Korean prisoners of war undisclosed that he "also received a message containing words of apology" from Ukraine.

During today's (October 6) parliamentary audit by the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, Minister Cho answered, "I cannot say there was none," when asked by Representative Lee Ki-heon of the Democratic Party of Korea whether Ukraine had failed to offer an apology.

Minister Cho said, "I continuously exchange messages with the Ukrainian foreign minister, and [the minister] is very troubled," adding that he had received a message regarding an apology from him.

He stated, "However, it differs somewhat from the level we expect, so we intend to take resolute measures," and responded to Rep. Lee's argument that South Korean Ambassador to Ukraine Park Hee-chang should be recalled by saying, "We are considering measures, including that option."

When asked why he thinks Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed the prisoner repatriation, Minister Cho speculated, "Was it because he wanted to state at the United Nations that he acted appropriately as a liberal democracy?" and added that this was his "personal interpretation."

Regarding the landmine explosion incident in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), Minister Cho said, "I agree with the necessity," responding to Democratic Party Rep. Woo Won-shik's argument that South and North Korea and the United Nations Command (UNC) need to jointly manage the coordinates of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL).

He continued, "However, despite our government's requests, North Korea has not responded, so we are deliberating on ways to elicit their response."

He added, "Making firm demands of North Korea and managing the situation so it does not escalate unnecessarily are two sides of the same coin," noting, "We will continue to make efforts to achieve this."

(Photo: Yonhap News)

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