Sourced fact
The News
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky sparked a diplomatic controversy with South Korea during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly on September 23rd. Zelensky mentioned that Ukraine had recently transferred two North Korean war prisoners to South Korea. South Korea responded quickly by summoning Ukraine's ambassador in Seoul, Andriy Melnyk, and requesting a formal clarification and apology, describing the disclosure as "unilateral" despite a previous agreement on confidentiality.
Deputy Spokesman of President Zelensky, Dmitry Litvin, clarified that there was no secret agreement between the two countries and that the transfer of prisoners should have been announced. However, the South Korean presidential spokesman, Kim Sung-wan, told Reuters that Ukraine had requested confidentiality to avoid domestic criticism. He added that South Korea had agreed to confidentiality for diplomatic reasons, to protect the prisoners and their families.
Natalia Butyrskaya, a Central Asia expert at the New Europe Center in Kiev, stated that Ukraine and South Korea are suffering from a lack of ongoing trust and cooperation. She added that South Korea was not interested in improving bilateral relations with Ukraine through this prisoner transfer. Butyrskaya pointed out that Russia had requested the return of North Korean prisoners, which led to the delay in the release of Ukrainian prisoners.
Mykola Bulhak, a Korea expert in Ukraine, noted that the diplomatic crisis is linked to internal conflicts in South Korea. Bulhak explained that the South Korean government is seeking to re-establish communication with North Korea, making it concerned that the prisoner transfer might hinder these efforts. Shim Sang-min from the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul noted that the South Korean government might be more willing to cooperate with Russia rather than Ukraine.
Butyrskaya indicated that relations between Ukraine and South Korea may further cool. She stated that South Korea would not be a friend to Ukraine and would maintain distance. Bulhak, on the other hand, said that any military-technical cooperation between the two countries has become impossible, but he expects that humanitarian and commercial cooperation will continue.
Analysis & context
Analysis & Context
Analytically, this crisis highlights the strained diplomatic relations between Ukraine and South Korea. Natalia Borisca, a Central Asia and Pacific expert at the New Europe Center in Kiev, sees that the two countries lack ongoing dialogue and trust, particularly with the current Seoul government. Borisca points out that South Korea might be less willing to militarily support Ukraine due to its own diplomatic interests with Russia and the United States.
In a broader context, the crisis reflects the diplomatic complexities South Korea faces in dealing with issues related to prisons and detainees. Kim Sung-wan confirmed that South Korea had long sought to transfer the prisoners, but is now concerned that this might hinder efforts to re-establish communication between the two Koreas. This reflects the challenges Seoul faces in balancing its security and diplomatic interests with North Korea and Russia.
From other perspectives, Mykola Bulhak, a Korea expert in Ukraine, sees that the crisis also reflects internal tensions in South Korea. Bulhak believes that the South Korean government may be less willing to militarily support Ukraine, especially with its move towards normalizing relations with Russia.
