Oct 02, Kathmandu - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has warned that Seoul may take “further steps” unless Ukraine publicly apologizes for disclosing that two North Korean prisoners of war had been sent to South Korea.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed the transfer last week at the United Nations General Assembly. South Korea expressed displeasure, saying the two countries had agreed to keep the matter confidential.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha‎ described the dispute on Thursday as a “diplomatic misunderstanding” and said Kyiv was working to resolve it. But Lee rejected that characterization in a post on X, saying the issue concerned “the dignity of the Korean people and nation.”

Lee’s office said Ukraine had asked Seoul to keep the transfer secret, citing concerns about the prisoners’ families in North Korea and the risk of being accused of losing an opportunity to exchange them for Ukrainian captives. Zelenskyy’s office, however, said there had been no agreement to keep the matter confidential, deepening the dispute.

The disclosure also drew criticism of Lee at home. South Korea’s opposition accused him of concealing the transfer to appease North Korea.

The two prisoners were among thousands of North Korean troops supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine. They had previously told local media they wanted to go to South Korea.

Speaking to Ukrainian media on Thursday, Sybiha said he hoped the issue would be resolved “in the near future,” adding that South Korea was an important partner and that Kyiv wanted to maintain cooperation.

In response, Lee accused Kyiv of trying to bring war to the Korean Peninsula. “Instead of acknowledging the facts of the agreement and apologizing, we are deeply concerned that you are talking about the possibility of a military clash between North and South Korea in the near future,” he wrote on X.

South Korea has been sympathetic to Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion, but has maintained its longstanding policy of not supplying lethal weapons to countries engaged in active conflict.