Row between Ukraine, South Korea mounts over North Korean POWs

South Korea’s ⁠President accused Ukraine of ⁠undermining him and called on Kyiv to apologise.South Korea’s ⁠President ⁠Lee Jae Myung has expressed anger at Ukraine over comments by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a speech at the UN which appeared to reveal a secret deal by which Kyiv would transfer North Korean prisoners of war to Seoul.In a social media post on Friday, Lee accused Ukraine of undermining him and ⁠warned that Zelenskyy’s ⁠remarks about an imminent military clash between North and South Korea ‌amounted to invoking the risk of war on ‌the ‌Korean Peninsula.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Ukraine’s Zelenskyy calls for sustained pressure to end ‘Putin’s crazy war’list 2 of 3Why South Korea is demanding an apology from Ukraine over North Korean PoWslist 3 of 3S Korea demands apology over DMZ blasts as N Korea denies planting minesend of listThe diplomatic row pits two US-aligned states with powerful militaries against each other, potentially complicating US efforts to shore up a united global front to contain Russia, China and North Korea.The South Korean president also expressed ⁠regret over Ukraine’s response and called on Kyiv to acknowledge the agreement and apologise.“This is a matter concerning the honor of the Republic of Korea’s people and nation, we cannot overlook it,” Lee said.South Korean Lawmaker Yu Yong-weon explains pictures, showing two North Korean POWs who were recently transferred from Ukraine to South Korea. Face of POWs are blurred due to security reason by the source. [File: Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters]Lee also referred to an interview with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha published by RBC-Ukraine and other Ukrainian outlets on Thursday which sought to reduce bilateral tensions.Sybiha had said he would “not like to call it an incident”, describing it instead as a “diplomatic misunderstanding”.“South Korea is an important country for us. And I very much hope for momentum, continued cooperation, and concrete results that we are indeed achieving with them,” he said.