Seoul to withdraw embassy staff from Kyiv as North Korean POW row deepens

South Korea will withdraw additional embassy personnel from Kyiv after finding no “constructive response” from Ukraine over a row about North Korean prisoners of war (POWs), its Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday (Reuters, Al Jazeera).

Ministry spokesperson Park Doo-soon told a regular briefing that Seoul had conveyed its position to Kyiv through multiple channels but had not received a sufficient response (Al Jazeera, Arab News).

A charge d’affaires will stay on in Kyiv to maintain diplomatic communication, alongside all consular staff tasked with protecting South Korean nationals, Park added (Al Jazeera).

The ministry also cited persistent threats of air strikes across Ukraine, which had made it difficult to ensure staff safety (Al Jazeera, The Korea Times).

The row erupted after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the United Nations General Assembly on Sept 23 that Ukraine had transferred two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea (Al Jazeera, The Korea Times). Seoul recalled its ambassador earlier this month over the disclosure (Reuters, The Manila Times).

Seoul says the disclosure breached an agreement to keep the transfer confidential to protect the soldiers’ families in North Korea, and President Lee Jae Myung has demanded an official apology (The Korea Times, Arab News). Ukraine denies any such agreement existed and says it considers the matter closed (The Korea Times, Al Jazeera).