President Lee: "Ukraine Broke Confidentiality Agreement on Repatriation of North Korean POWs... Deeply Regrettable"

President Lee Jae-myung criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's public disclosure of the repatriation of two North Korean prisoners of war (POWs) to South Korea, saying, "I do not know what circumstances Ukraine may have, but it is deeply regrettable."

On September 24 local time, President Lee, who is visiting the United States and Mexico on the occasion of attending the United Nations General Assembly, stated on his social media that "(Ukraine) disclosed it in breach of a confidentiality agreement."

The two repatriated North Korean POWs were captured by Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region of Russia in January of last year.

Since then, they had expressed their desire to defect to South Korea through media interviews and handwritten letters delivered to North Korean defector groups.

The South Korean government has maintained the position that North Korean POWs are South Korean citizens under the Constitution, and that it will provide necessary protection and support in accordance with relevant laws and the fundamental principle of accepting all those who request to come to South Korea.

During a bilateral summit held on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit in July, President Lee and President Zelenskyy agreed to resolve the issue of North Korean POWs in a manner that respects the parties' free will and complies with international law and humanitarian principles.

In the course of these discussions, the two countries appear to have agreed to keep the repatriation of the North Korean POWs confidential, but President Zelenskyy disclosed during his speech at the UN General Assembly on September 23 local time that "two North Korean prisoners of war were recently sent to the Republic of Korea."

President Lee stressed, "The repatriation of North Korean prisoners to South Korea is a very sensitive agenda that significantly affects diplomacy, security, and the situation on the Korean Peninsula," adding, "Considering the various problems that could arise from disclosure, keeping it confidential was appropriate in every respect, and that was what was agreed upon."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.