Acting ambassador to Ukraine: “Consensus on keeping North Korean POW repatriation confidential as long as possible”

[Financial News] The South Korean and Ukrainian governments had reached a consensus to keep the repatriation of North Korean prisoners of war from becoming public for as long as possible during their discussions, the South Korean Embassy in Ukraine said on the 18th (local time).
Yoon Ji-wan, acting ambassador (minister-counselor) at the South Korean Embassy in Ukraine, said at an audit by the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee held that day at the South Korean Embassy in Poland, “We didn’t discuss at all when it would be made public, and many felt it would be best to keep it confidential for as long as possible.”
Yoon said the embassy had not known in advance that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would announce in his address to the UN General Assembly on the 23rd of last month that North Korean prisoners of war would be repatriated to South Korea, and that Ukraine had yet to provide a specific explanation for the disclosure.
After the repatriation of the POWs became public, the South Korean government demanded an apology when Ukraine denied that there had been a confidentiality agreement and recalled its ambassador to Ukraine, Park Gi-chang, on the 8th. Earlier, on the 6th of this month, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said, “We did receive a message from Ukraine that included words of apology,” but added, “There is some difference between that and the level we have in mind, so we intend to take firm measures.”
Yoon also said, “We demanded an apology, and we judge that they have not offered a clear apology at the level we requested.” He added, “Ukraine is taking the expressions of intent from our government and president very seriously,” and said, “We continue to convey our position in accordance with our instructions, and Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry is also going through its internal consultation process and working to reach a positive resolution.”
Regarding President Zelenskyy’s disclosure of the POW repatriation, he said, “It seems that even the Ukrainian side we had been in contact with at the working level did not know some things precisely,” indicating that the contents of the UN speech had not been properly shared in advance even within Ukraine’s diplomatic authorities.


Yoon said, “There are also many critical voices in Ukraine over the lack of internal consultation and the impulsive breaking of the confidentiality commitment.” He added, “There has been no further rebuttal from the Ukrainian side. We understand that it is in a position where it cannot deny there was a confidentiality agreement.”
Yoon said it seemed to be taking Ukraine’s authorities a considerable amount of time to coordinate and respond to the president’s remarks.
Three days after the POW repatriation was made public, President Zelenskyy’s aide Dmytro Lytvyn denied the existence of a confidentiality agreement, saying, “There was no such (confidentiality) agreement. That is not true.” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha effectively rejected the South Korean government’s demand for an apology on the 12th, saying, “I think the matter is closed.”


Responding to the suggestion that the diplomatic dispute arose because the confidentiality agreement had not been firmly put in writing or otherwise formalized, Yoon said it would be difficult to disclose specific evidence of the agreement, adding, “Documenting a diplomatic agreement is effectively a treaty.”
On the diplomatic dispute between the two countries, he said, “Both sides consider the repatriation of the POWs an enormously significant achievement,” adding, “There is a consensus that relations between the two countries should be stable and based on trust, and that this issue should be resolved wisely.”
At that day’s audit of the embassies in Poland, Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, Minister-Counselor Yoon, the deputy chief of mission at the Ukrainian Embassy, appeared via video link in his capacity as acting ambassador. Lee Seok-bae, South Korea’s ambassador to Russia, also participated in the audit via video link after Moscow airport was closed because of a drone attack by Ukrainian forces.

[email protected] Lee Seok-woo, International Affairs Correspondent Reporter