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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Hyung-Jin Kim

Seoul demands an apology after Zelenskyy unilaterally reveals North Korean prisoners of war transfer

UN General Assembly Ukraine - (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

South Korea called for an official apology from Ukraine after the Ukrainian president revealed what Seoul says was supposed to be a secret transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the U.N. General Assembly last week that Ukraine had recently sent the men to South Korea after capturing them on a Ukraine-Russia battlefield in early 2025. The two are among thousands of North Korean soldiers sent to support Russia’s war against Ukraine.

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