South Korea made no military aid pledge to Ukraine over transfer of North Koreans, lawmaker says
Seoul says it only agreed to keep the transfer confidential, while Kyiv denies any secrecy pact and has not apologized for the disclosure.
- On Sept 30, South Korea's National Intelligence Service claimed Ukraine originally requested that the mid-September transfer of two North Korean POWs remain confidential, though Kyiv denies any such secrecy agreement exists.
- Tensions escalated after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed the transfer during a United Nations address last week, prompting Seoul's presidential office to demand an apology for the perceived violation.
- Two North Korean soldiers arrived in South Korea in mid-September with no major health issues, according to National Intelligence Service briefings, and are currently undergoing standard security screening and questioning.
- The foreign ministry called in acting Ukrainian ambassador Andrii Vieshkin on Sept 28 to express concern over Kyiv's denial of the agreement, as lawmakers report Ukraine has offered no apology.
- Amid reports of more than 8,000 North Korean troops on Russian territory, South Korea maintains its focus on non-lethal aid and confirmed no promise of military support was made during the transfer of the two soldiers.
19 Articles
19 Articles
<p>South Korea did not promise military assistance to Ukraine in exchange for the transfer of prisoners from the DPRK - the Seoul deputy did not promise military assistance to Kiev in exchange for two captured DPRK military personnel. Ukraine also did not put forward conditions regarding them </p>transmission.
Ukraine was the first to request that the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea be kept secret.
The South Korean authorities made no commitments in exchange for the release of two North Korean soldiers by the Kiev regime, and Seoul did not promise to provide military assistance to Ukraine.
Transfer of captured soldiers to South Korea was announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his UN address last week
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporters Park Soo-yoon and Jo Da-woon = The National Intelligence Service stated on the 30th, regarding Ukraine's repatriation of North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea, "From the initial stages of consultations (between the two countries), Ukraine ..."
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