The South Korean president accused Ukraine of leaking classified information

Lee Je-myung expressed regret over Ukraine’s disclosure of information regarding the transfer to South Korea of two North Korean soldiers who had been held captive. According to the president, this violated the non-disclosure agreement.

 

“It would have been appropriate for all parties to keep this confidential, given the numerous problems that disclosure could have caused, and we agreed to do so,” Lee Jae-myung wrote on his X account.

“Ukraine disclosed the handover in violation of the non-disclosure agreement. I do not know the reasons for this, but I regret it,” Lee wrote.

The president emphasized that the issue is extremely sensitive and could affect diplomacy, national security, and the overall situation on the Korean Peninsula. According to him, Seoul and Kyiv initially agreed on a confidential handover process precisely because of the risk of such complications.

According to available information, the parties had been discussing the possibility of transferring the detainees ever since the detainees themselves expressed a desire to be in South Korea. Previously, Seoul had avoided any official confirmation of their arrival—out of concern for the safety of the prisoners themselves and their relatives who remain in North Korea.

In response to an inquiry from the Yonhap News Agency, the Ukrainian side explained that it had disclosed only the fact of the transfer, without details of the process—keeping absolutely everything secret, in their view, would have seemed strange.

“Cruel and irresponsible”—that is how Lee described the public disclosure of such information, responding to critics of the confidentiality agreement—regardless of the consequences for inter-Korean relations or even a potential threat to anyone’s safety.

Finally, the president expressed hope that wars, which claim the lives of innocent people, would end as soon as possible.

Source: The Korea Times

Earlier, Zelenskyy announced the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea.

Following this, South Korea confirmed the arrival of two North Korean prisoners of war from Ukraine.

As a reminder, North Korea may send up to 50,000 troops to Russia.