Kyiv denies agreement with Seoul on confidentiality of POW transfer — Korea Herald

In South Korea, Kyiv denied Seoul’s claim that there had allegedly been an agreement not to disclose the transfer of two prisoners of war from North Korea to South Korea. According to The Korea Herald, Ukrainian presidential communications adviser Dmytro Lytvyn said that no such agreement existed.

Kyiv’s position

Responding to a Facebook post by Ukrainian journalist Oksana Torop, Lytvyn called the claim about such an agreement false. He also said that concealing the whereabouts of specific prisoners would be wrong.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the transfer of the two prisoners during his speech at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday. According to the publication, Ukrainian forces had held these prisoners of war, who fought on the side of the Russian Federation, the aggressor state.

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Statement by South Korea’s president

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said on X on Thursday that Seoul and Kyiv had agreed to keep the transfer secret, considering potential problems stemming from its public disclosure. He described the decision as reasonable and justified and expressed regret that, according to his claim, the Ukrainian side had breached the agreement.

After Kyiv’s denial, calls were made in South Korea to explain the decision-making process. Park Seong-hoon, a lawmaker from the main opposition People Power Party, demanded that the Lee Jae-myung administration clarify when and by whom the decision on confidentiality had been made, which agreements Seoul believes had been violated, and why secrecy was considered necessary for the prisoners’ safety.