Ministry of Foreign Affairs Summons Ukrainian Chargé d'Affaires and Expresses Strong Regret

Vice Minister Park Yoonjoo: "Disclosure of POW Transfer to South Korea Made Unilaterally Without Prior Consultation"
Ukrainian Presidential Office: "No Confidential Agreement Existed"

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that on September 28, First Vice Minister Park Yoonjoo summoned Andrii Beshkin, the Chargé d'Affaires ad interim of Ukraine in South Korea, to convey the South Korean government's stern position regarding the repatriation of North Korean prisoners of war.

Vice Minister Park pointed out that, despite a clear and confidential agreement between South Korea and Ukraine not to make the repatriation of North Korean prisoners of war public, the Ukrainian side unilaterally disclosed the transfer of the North Korean POWs to South Korea at the United Nations General Assembly on September 23 (local time) without sufficient prior explanation or concrete consultation.

The Ministry further reported that Vice Minister Park strongly expressed regret over the fact that the Public Affairs Office of the Ukrainian Presidential Office later issued a false briefing denying the existence of any confidential agreement.

Vice Minister Park emphasized that Ukraine's public statement denying the confidential agreement not only severely undermined trust between the two governments but also damaged the friendly relationship between the countries. He demanded an official explanation and apology from the Ukrainian government regarding the unilateral disclosure of the POW repatriation and the false briefing, and urged measures to prevent recurrence.

The Ministry stated that Chargé d'Affaires Beshkin listened carefully to the Korean government's position and said he would accurately report it to his home government.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.