Government Takes Hard-Line Step, Decides to Recall Ambassador to Ukraine

[Anchor]

In protest against Ukraine, which unilaterally disclosed the repatriation of North Korean prisoners of war and claimed that no confidentiality agreement existed, the South Korean government has taken a hard-line stance by deciding to recall its ambassador to Ukraine back to Seoul. Overnight, Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it remains open to resuming constructive dialogue, while emphasizing that diplomacy should take precedence over emotion.

Kim Hye-young reports.

[Anchor]

The government announced that it has decided to recall Park Ki-chang, South Korea's ambassador to Ukraine.

Recalling an ambassador to one's home country is a diplomatic measure to deliver a strong protest to a counterpart country without severing diplomatic relations.

While there are past precedents—such as recalling the ambassador to Japan in 2001 in protest against Japan's history textbook distortions and in 2008 over its territorial claims to Dokdo—it is an exceptionally rare measure, with few comparable cases since.

The latest friction began on September 23, when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed at the United Nations General Assembly that two North Korean prisoners of war had been repatriated to South Korea.

[Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Ukrainian President (September 23): "Recently, we sent two North Korean prisoners of war captured by Ukrainian forces to the Republic of Korea."]

The South Korean government pushed back, pointing out that Ukraine had unilaterally disclosed the matter despite a bilateral agreement to keep the repatriation confidential.

The rift deepened after the Ukrainian side denied the existence of any confidentiality agreement altogether.

President Lee Jae-myung personally demanded an apology, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Ukrainian chargé d'affaires to South Korea to lodge a formal protest.

Ukraine's foreign minister subsequently sent a message of apology, but the government warned of decisive measures, stating that it fell short of expectations.

[Cho Hyun / Minister of Foreign Affairs (October 6): "Since it falls somewhat short of the level we anticipated, we intend to take decisive measures."]

The government stated, "We hope the pending issues between the two countries will be resolved smoothly, and we will continue consultations with the Ukrainian side."

However, it added that "the actual timing of our ambassador's return will be decided in consideration of the progress of consultations," indicating that Ukraine's future response will be a key variable.

Video by Cho Chun-dong | Video Editing by Yoon Tae-ho | Graphics by Kang Yoon-jeong
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.