South Korea’s Ukraine Envoy Returns Home Amid Dispute Over POW Disclosure

South Korea’s ambassador to Ukraine returned home Saturday after Seoul recalled him in protest over Kyiv’s disclosure that two North Korean prisoners of war had been transferred to South Korea.

Ambassador Park Ki-chang arrived two days after the Foreign Ministry announced the recall, an unusually forceful diplomatic step reflecting a dispute between the two countries over whether the transfer was meant to remain confidential.

The two North Korean soldiers were captured in January 2025 while fighting alongside Russian forces in the Kursk region. They arrived in South Korea in mid-September, according to South Korean officials.

The dispute became public after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed the transfer during an address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York last month. Seoul says the disclosure breached a non-disclosure agreement that had been reached at Ukraine’s request. South Korean officials have said secrecy was intended to protect the soldiers as well as their family members who remain in North Korea.

Ukraine has disputed Seoul’s account, saying that no such confidentiality agreement existed. The conflicting statements have created a sensitive diplomatic disagreement at a time when the two countries have maintained close contact over North Korea’s military involvement in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The Foreign Ministry said when it announced the recall that South Korea hoped the outstanding issues would be resolved smoothly and that consultations with the Ukrainian side would continue. The decision to bring Park home nevertheless underscored the seriousness with which Seoul views the handling of the soldiers’ identities and transfer.

Recalling an ambassador as a form of protest is rare in South Korean diplomacy. The previous such case occurred in 2008, when Seoul recalled its ambassador to Japan. An ambassadorial recall does not necessarily mean diplomatic ties are being severed, but it is generally used to register strong dissatisfaction and allow the government to review its response.

The episode also draws attention to the unusual status of North Korean troops captured while fighting outside the Korean Peninsula. Their presence in the conflict has added a direct Korean dimension to the war, while their transfer to South Korea raises complex questions involving security, diplomacy and the safety of relatives still living under the North Korean government.

Seoul has not indicated how long Park will remain in South Korea. Its next steps are likely to depend on consultations with Kyiv and whether the two governments can reconcile their sharply different accounts of the confidentiality surrounding the transfer.