"Is This Something to Be Enraged About?" Rep. Na Kyung-won Sends 'Thank-You Letter' to Ukraine

Rep. Na Kyung-won of the People Power Party announced that she has sent a letter of gratitude to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Disclosing the letter on social media, Rep. Na stated to President Zelenskyy, "I welcome and express deep gratitude for Your Excellency President Zelenskyy's broad-minded decision to respect the free will of North Korean prisoners of war, Mr. Ri and Mr. Baek, and allow them to come to South Korea."

She added, "We fully understand that Your Excellency President Zelenskyy's handling of the North Korean prisoners of war issue, grounded in universal human rights, international law, and humanitarian principles, was by no means an easy decision as the head of state and commander-in-chief elected by the Ukrainian people."

Rep. Na's office sent the letter online to the Ukrainian government and is reportedly considering delivering a physical copy through diplomatic channels as well.

Regarding the reason for sending the letter, Rep. Na argued, "Is Ukraine's disclosure of the fact that it sent North Korean POWs to South Korea something that should make President Lee Jae-myung and the government so enraged as to take the extreme measure of recalling the ambassador? Even if there are some differences of opinion and regrets regarding procedural disclosure, it is fundamentally a humanitarian and security achievement for which both nations should put their heads together and thank each other."

She went on to criticize, "The Lee Jae-myung administration cannot say a single word to North Korea, which harmed our service members with landmines along the Military Demarcation Line, or to the aggressor nation Russia, yet it repays Ukraine's favor of repatriating North Korean POWs with hostility. It has gone completely backward."

Earlier, the South Korean government decided to recall its ambassador to Ukraine in response to Ukraine publicly revealing the repatriation of the North Korean POWs without prior consultation and failing to apologize for doing so.

In response, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that "diplomacy must take precedence over emotions," adding that it "invited the South Korean ambassador to Ukraine to the Foreign Ministry to convey the Ukrainian side's position."

Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Kim Bok-hyeong | Design by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.