South Korea to withdraw embassy staff from Ukraine as POW dispute deepens

South Korea will withdraw some staff from its embassy in Ukraine, its Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, escalating a weeks-long diplomatic row over two North Korean prisoners of war transferred to Seoul.

Ministry spokesperson Park Doo-soon told a regular briefing that Seoul had conveyed its position to Kyiv through multiple channels but received no “constructive response”. The announcement follows South Korea’s recall of its ambassador, Park Ki-chang, last week after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly told the UN General Assembly in September that Ukraine had transferred two captured North Korean soldiers to the South.

Seoul says the disclosure breached an understanding to keep the transfer confidential and put the soldiers and their families in North Korea at risk. President Lee Jae Myung has demanded an official apology, and Seoul has summoned Kyiv’s ambassador while threatening unspecified “further measures”. [https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/south-korea-withdraw-ukraine-embassy-staff-6474651]

Persistent air-strike threats across Ukraine had also made staff safety difficult, Park said, without saying how many staff would leave or when. A chargé d’affaires will stay in Kyiv for diplomatic communication, and all consular staff remain to protect South Korean nationals. [https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/foreignaffairs/20261020/seoul-pulls-embassy-staff-from-kyiv-as-north-korean-pow-dispute-deepens]

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said last week that Kyiv considered the matter closed, blaming differing interpretations of the confidentiality arrangements and insisting Ukraine had fulfilled all its obligations. [https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/south-korea-to-pull-more-ukraine-embassy-staff-after-pow-dispute]

Read next: Seoul earlier rejected Kyiv’s apology over the disclosure as falling short — South Korea says Ukraine’s apology over North Korean POW disclosure ‘falls short’