[Anchor]
The South Korean government has strongly protested Ukraine's unilateral disclosure of the repatriation of North Korean prisoners of war and decided to recall its ambassador to Ukraine. Although Ukraine conveyed an apology, Seoul has taken a firm response, stating that it fell short of expectations.
Kim Hye-young reports.
[Anchor]
The government announced today (October 8) that it has decided to recall Park Ki-chang, South Korean Ambassador to Ukraine.
Recalling an ambassador to the home country is a diplomatic measure used to convey a strong protest to the counterpart nation without severing diplomatic ties.
While there were precedents of recalling the ambassador to Japan in 2001 over Japan's distortion of history textbooks and in 2008 over its claim to Dokdo sovereignty, it remains an extremely rare step with few examples since.
The current conflict began on September 23 when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed at the UN General Assembly that two North Korean prisoners of war had been repatriated to South Korea.
[Volodymyr Zelenskyy / President of Ukraine (September 23): "Recently, we sent two North Korean prisoners of war captured by the Ukrainian military to the Republic of Korea."]
The South Korean government protested, arguing that Ukraine unilaterally disclosed the information despite an agreement between both countries to keep the repatriation confidential.
Tensions heightened further after the Ukrainian side denied the very existence of such a confidentiality agreement.
President Lee Jae-myung personally demanded an apology, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Ukraine's chargé d'affaires to South Korea to lodge a formal protest.
Although Ukraine's foreign minister subsequently sent a message of apology, the government warned of decisive measures, saying it did not meet expectations.
[Cho Hyun / Minister of Foreign Affairs (October 6): "Because it is somewhat different from what we expected, we intend to take decisive measures."]
The government stated, "We hope that pending issues between the two nations will be resolved smoothly and will continue consultations with the Ukrainian side."
However, it noted, "The actual timing of our ambassador's return will be decided in consideration of the progress of consultations," suggesting that Ukraine's upcoming response will serve as a key variable.
(Camera by Cho Chun-dong | Video Editing by Yoon Tae-ho | Graphics by Kang Yoon-jung)
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