South Korea recalls some diplomats from Ukraine over prisoner scandal

South Korea is recalling some staff from its diplomatic mission in Ukraine, following the earlier recall of its ambassador.

This was reported by the Yonhap agency, citing the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson Park Doo-sun cited two grounds for the decision. The first is the absence of “positive steps” from Kyiv to resolve the dispute over the disclosure of information regarding the handover of North Korean prisoners. The second is the ongoing threat of air strikes, which makes it difficult to ensure the safety of diplomats.

Following the partial recall of staff, necessary diplomatic contacts will continue under the leadership of the chargé d’affaires of Ukraine in South Korea.

The scandal between the two countries erupted after Ukrainian President Zelensky publicly announced in September, during his address to the UN General Assembly in New York, that Ukraine had handed two North Korean soldiers over to South Korea. According to him, they had fought on Russia’s side and were captured by Ukraine in the Kursk region. Seoul accused Zelensky of violating an agreement to keep this information confidential.

The Office of the President of Ukraine, for its part, stated that no such agreement had existed. Nevertheless, Kyiv subsequently did issue an apology over the incident, but Seoul deemed it insufficient.