South Korea threatens 'additional measures' over Ukraine confidentiality dispute

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung warned on Friday that Seoul will take “additional measures” if Ukraine refuses to acknowledge a confidentiality agreement concerning the transfer of two North Korean soldiers to South Korea and does not apologise for saying that no such agreement existed.“If you (Ukraine) continue to refuse to acknowledge the facts and apologise publicly, we will take additional measures.

As this is a matter concerning the honour of the Republic of Korea's people and nation, we cannot overlook it,” Lee said in a statement on X.Diplomatic tensions have escalated between the two countries after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his address last week to the UN General Assembly disclosed that two North Korean soldiers captured while fighting for Russia were transferred to South Korea.The soldiers were captured in Russia’s Kursk region in early 2025 after being deployed to support Russian forces against Ukrainian troops.South Korea's Foreign Ministry summoned the Ukrainian ambassador on Monday to express strong concern about the denial and demanded an apology from Kiev.Seoul said it was Ukraine that violated a mutual confidentiality agreement aimed at keeping the transfer confidential in order to protect the soldiers, saying Kiev was the first to request secrecy over the matter.“In response to a demand to acknowledge the agreement and apologise, it has instead mentioned (the possibility of) an imminent inter-Korean military conflict,” Lee said, accusing Ukraine of attempting to bring “war on the Korean Peninsula” and expressing “serious regret,” according toYonhap News Agency.An unnamed senior South Korean government official told reporters on Friday that Seoul and Kiev had agreed to a confidentiality clause covering the transfer of the two prisoners of war (POWs), and said the foreign ministers of the two countries have been discussing “how Kiev should respond to South Korea's demand for an apology over the disclosure of the transfer.”