Seoul and Kyiv dispute secrecy over North Korean POW transfer
South Korea says two North Korean POWs transferred from Ukraine arrived in mid-September. Seoul and Kyiv disagree over whether a confidentiality agreement existed.
South Korea's intelligence service told lawmakers on Wednesday that two North Korean prisoners of war transferred from Ukraine arrived in mid-September, according to AP and Yonhap reports of the September 30 briefing. Seoul says Kyiv sought confidentiality for the transfer. A Ukrainian official denies that a nondisclosure agreement existed. Those are conflicting accounts, not an established finding that an agreement was signed. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed the transfer in a United Nations address the previous week. The arrival timing is separate from the current parliamentary briefing and diplomatic disagreement.