Seoul summons Ukraine envoy over North Korean prisoner-of-war row

This was partly to protect the North Koreans' families, President Lee's office said in a statement, which added that Kyiv also wanted the transfer kept secret to avoid criticism that it had given up an opportunity to exchange the soldiers for Ukrainian prisoners of war.Lee's office explained Ukraine had indicated the soldiers would be mentioned in Zelensky's address, but not the fact of their transfer.The spat escalated when Zelensky's office responded claiming that the two countries did not have a non-disclosure agreement.Seoul demanded Ukraine apologise for "announcing a falsehood" and said its actions had seriously damaged trust between the two nations.Lee faced heavy criticism at home after Zelensky's disclosure. The South Korean opposition accused him of covering up the transfer to appease Pyongyang.Lee, whose party takes a conciliatory approach to the North, has been making efforts to reopen peace talks, with little success.Seoul has been sympathetic to Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion, but has refused to break from its longstanding policy of not providing lethal weapons to any country engaged in active war.After North Korean troops were deployed to support Russia in 2024, Kyiv stepped up pressure on South Korea to supply cutting-edge anti-air missiles to help defend Ukraine's energy infrastructure from Russian drone and missile attacks.