Foreign Ministry: "Decided to Recall Ambassador to Ukraine"... Toughest Response to 'Unilateral Disclosure of North Korean POWs'

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on the 8th, "We have decided to recall our ambassador to Ukraine." The early recall of an ambassador posted overseas is interpreted as a strong protest against the host country.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs building. Yonhap News Agency

However, while announcing the recall, the ministry left the door open to dialogue, saying, "We hope that various issues between the two countries will be resolved amicably," and "To that end, we will continue consultations with Ukraine."

The recall is a protest over Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's unilateral disclosure last month, at the UN General Assembly in New York, that North Korean prisoners of war had been repatriated to South Korea. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the two countries had reached a "confidential agreement" during discussions on the prisoners' repatriation, but Ukraine unilaterally broke it. In addition, the Ukrainian presidential office gave an account that differed somewhat from the South Korean government's explanation of whether a confidential agreement had been reached.

In response, President Lee Jae-myung expressed anger on social media, saying, "They have made the head of state of another country out to be a liar," and warned, "If they continue to refuse to acknowledge the facts and issue a public apology, we will take additional measures."

On the 28th of last month, First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Yoon-joo summoned Andrii Beshkin, Ukraine's chargé d'affaires in South Korea, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and conveyed South Korea's protest. After receiving no response for five days, the government appears to have decided to escalate its response and abruptly recall its ambassador to Ukraine. The specific timing of Ambassador Park Ki-chang's recall is unknown.

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