South Korea recalls more embassy staff over North Korean prisoner dispute

South Korea will withdraw some of its embassy staff from Ukraine due to Kyivʼs lack of a "constructive response" in the dispute over North Korean prisoners of war.

This was stated at a briefing by South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Park Doo Sung, Yonhap reports.

He said Ukraine had not taken "positive steps" to resolve the diplomatic dispute. He cited Russian airstrikes as another reason for the decision, making it difficult to protect diplomatic personnel.

Despite the partial withdrawal of staff, South Korea will maintain diplomatic contacts with Ukraine through a temporary chargé dʼaffaires. All consular staff will remain in the country.

What preceded

The diplomatic scandal between Ukraine and South Korea occurred after President Volodymyr Zelensky disclosed information about the transfer of North Korean prisoners. Seoul said that the countries had agreed not to disclose the information, but Kyiv denied the existence of such an agreement. At the time, Korea demanded an apology, but later called it insufficient.

On October 8, the country decided to recall its ambassador from Ukraine. The Foreign Ministry did not specify the reason, but noted that “the government hopes to resolve all outstanding issues between the two countries without hindrance”.

After that, the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Heorhiy Tykhyi said that Ukraine is ready to resume dialogue with South Korea.

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