President Lee Jae Myung and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hold a summit at a hotel in Ankara, Turkey, on July 8 (local time). [Yonhap]
President Lee Jae Myung and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hold a summit at a hotel in Ankara, Turkey, on July 8 (local time). [Yonhap]

A senior South Korean government official said the government had no plan to ever disclose its confidential agreement with Ukraine over the repatriation of North Korean prisoners of war, amid a growing dispute over the handling of the matter.

The official, speaking to reporters, said the government had intended to "keep it secret to the end, if at all possible," citing concerns for the safety of the POWs and their families, Yonhap reported.

The official also said the foreign ministers of the two countries are in communication and discussing a potential apology from Ukraine.

"We have been talking about how they will make an announcement, including an apology," the official said. "The two foreign ministers have been working on calibrating the level of that response."

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun has been exchanging text messages with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, negotiating the level of response Seoul is seeking and the range Ukraine can accept, according to the official.

The discussions between the two ministers are also taking into account Ukraine's current wartime situation and considerations of face for the other side, the official said.

The official made clear that there was a definitive agreement between the two countries to keep the entire matter of the North Korean POWs confidential. A final agreement on the repatriation was reached at a bilateral foreign ministers' meeting held in South Korea in June, the official added.

At that meeting, the South Korean government made clear that the repatriation of the North Korean POWs was decided in accordance with international law and the Constitution, and that the matter would not be linked to any other compensation for Ukraine, the official said.

Ukraine's foreign minister: 'South Korea is an important country to us'

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Sybiha told reporters at an event Thursday (local time) that he preferred not to call the matter an "incident," describing it instead as a "diplomatic misunderstanding," according to local outlets including RBC Ukraine.

"I sincerely hope this situation will be resolved very soon, and we are working toward that," Sybiha said. "South Korea is an important country to us."

"I strongly hope that the momentum, continuity and concrete results that we are truly building together with South Korea will continue," he added.

Amid the dispute, President Lee Jae Myung posted on X, formerly Twitter, expressing "serious regret" toward Ukraine. Lee wrote that Ukraine had requested the repatriation be kept confidential, an agreement was reached, and Ukraine then unilaterally disclosed it. When he expressed disappointment as diplomatically as possible, Lee said, Ukraine denied the existence of the agreement and effectively called him a liar. When Seoul demanded acknowledgment of the agreement and an apology, he said, Ukraine instead raised the specter of an imminent inter-Korean military clash and appeared to be "scheming for the outbreak of war on the Korean Peninsula."

Lee said that if Ukraine "continues to refuse to acknowledge the facts and issue a public apology, we will take further measures," adding that the matter "cannot be overlooked as it concerns the dignity of the Korean people and the nation."


yul@heraldcorp.com