00:00First tensions between South Korea and Ukraine seem to be reigniting.
00:02It's about the repatriation of two North Korean prisoners of war.
00:04South Korea claims there was a confidentiality agreement
00:06regarding making the repatriation of the two North Korean pals public.
00:09However, Ukraine claims no such agreement existed.
00:11Suddenly, the two sides are at odds with each other.
00:13Today, let's take a closer look at this situation.
00:14As you all know, Ukrainian President Zelensky revealed in his speech at the UN General Assembly
00:18that they recently sent two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea.
00:21At the same time, Ukrainian President Zelensky asked
00:24why North Koreans should sacrifice their lives in a war against Ukraine.
00:26The two North Korean prisoners of war repatriated to South Korea this time
00:30were captured by Ukrainian forces just before they could harm themselves during the war in Ukraine.
00:33They were captured in January 2025 and were subsequently held in a Ukrainian PO camp.
00:38It took them about 20 months to finally arrive in South Korea.
00:41Ukrainian President Zelensky also stated that Kim Jong-un is treating them like currency
00:44to gain something in return, adding that countries across Asia
00:47have likely already noticed North Korea's improved ballistic missiles
00:50and significantly advanced drone capabilities.
00:52Up to the point of repatriation, there wasn't a major problem.
00:54Up until then, South Korea and Ukraine had agreed to fast-track the transfer
00:58of North Korean POWs to South Korea, reaffirming this agreement multiple times.
01:01However, the issue arose when South Korea stated that Ukraine's remarks
01:04were in themselves a breach of that agreement.
01:06President Lee Jae-myung expressed that although he didn't know Ukraine's reasons
01:09for breaching the confidential agreement and making it public,
01:12it was deeply regrettable, and that was when friction began to emerge
01:14between South Korea and Ukraine.
01:16South Korea took issue with what Ukrainian President Zelensky said
01:18at the UN General Assembly.
01:20South Korea claims that while there was a confidential agreement
01:22for North Korean POWs to come to South Korea, President Zelensky brought it up publicly.
01:26Ukraine, on the other hand, claimed that there was never any agreement
01:28with South Korea to keep the prisoner transfer confidential.
01:31Ukrainian media is reporting that the controversy over the transfer
01:34of North Korean POWs has not only escalated into a diplomatic conflict
01:37between South Korea and Ukraine, but is also emerging as an issue
01:40in Ukrainian domestic politics.
01:42The anti-Zelensky faction is launching attacks on President Zelensky,
01:45citing President Lee Jae-myung's remarks, especially since South Korea is pushing back like that.
01:48Vitro Ledvin, communications advisor to the Ukrainian President's office,
01:52stated on social media that there was no such secret agreement, calling it untrue,
01:55and added that hiding where specific prisoners of war are going is wrong.
01:58The Blue House explains that there was an understanding to handle it quietly
02:01without making it public.
02:02For now, the Blue House's position emphasizes that
02:04our government's approach is to respond based on consistent principles
02:07such as the individual's wishes, domestic legal procedures, and humanitarian principles.
02:11It then added that it was not appropriate to respond specifically to remarks from sources.
02:14For now, it appears the stances of the two governments are at odds.
02:17A senior Blue House official stated that there was an understanding with Ukraine
02:20during the consultations on the matter that it would not be made public
02:23and would be handled quietly.
02:25However, he explained that because President Zelensky mentioned it
02:27in his UN General Assembly speech,
02:28it is true that things deviated a bit from the original understanding.
02:31However, the Ukrainian office of the President stated that
02:33they had never made any confidentiality agreement with South Korea
02:35regarding the prisoner transfer,
02:37revealing conflicting stances between the two governments.
02:39It seems they likely agreed to keep it private,
02:41but because they didn't specifically determine how to keep it private,
02:43this situation seems to have arisen.
02:45Then, conversely, this question comes up.
02:46Why on earth did Ukraine reveal this fact at the UN General Assembly?
02:50Just looking at the fact that two North Korean POs were transferred to South Korea,
02:53it was a matter that both governments could have handled quietly.
02:55Yet, President Zelensky directly mentioned this
02:57on the prominent global stage of the UN General Assembly.
03:00This can be seen as carrying diplomatic significance,
03:02aiming to once again highlight the issue of North Korean troop deployments to Russia
03:06before the international community.
03:07Moreover, President Zelensky didn't just speak about the two POs being sent to South Korea.
03:11He questioned why North Koreans should lay down their lives in the war against Ukraine,
03:14emphasizing that North Korean troops are participating in the war to support Russia.
03:18That is because the fact that North Korean POWs actually exist,
03:20were captured by Ukrainian forces,
03:22and subsequently transferred to South Korea,
03:24can serve as an example showing that military cooperation between North Korea and Russia
03:27has extended directly to the actual battlefield.
03:29For Ukraine, this issue is a very important diplomatic issue.
03:32That is because Ukraine has been continuously telling the international community
03:35that North Korea is providing troops and military support as Russia continues the war.
03:39Therefore, the issue of North Korean POWs should not be seen merely as an individual prisoner repatriation case,
03:44but must be viewed in connection with the larger issue of military cooperation between North Korea and Russia.
03:48Another point to note is the venue itself, the UN General Assembly.
03:51President Zelensky didn't disclose this at a domestic press conference or through Ukrainian media,
03:55but mentioned it directly before the watchful eyes of the international community.
03:58By bringing up the issue of North Korean troop deployment to Russia on the UN stage,
04:02he was able to bring this matter to the attention of various nations once again.
04:05However, we shouldn't arbitrarily assume the exact intention behind this disclosure.
04:08That's because the Ukrainian presidential office maintains that they never made a confidentiality agreement
04:12with South Korea regarding the transfer of prisoners of war.
04:14Therefore, rather than assuming that President Zelensky disclosed this fact with a specific political agenda,
04:18it is more consistent with their publicly stated position to see it as him mentioning the case of the two
04:21POWs in passing
04:22as Ukraine worked to inform the international community about the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia.
04:26And separate from that, there were a few people who wondered why the North Korean POWs were sent to South
04:31Korea.
04:31First of all, the North Korean POWs chose to go to South Korea of their own free will,
04:35sending North Korean prisoners of war back to North Korea against their will
04:38violates the principle of non-refflement under international law.
04:41Since those who publicly expressed their desire to go to South Korea could face severe human rights abuses
04:44if returned to the North, there was also strong international opinion that,
04:47from a humanitarian standpoint, the decision had to be made to send them to South Korea.
04:50Furthermore, the South Korean government also maintained the stance that it would accept them,
04:52since these North Korean prisoners of war who are constitutionally South Korean citizens
04:55had made their intention to defect clear.
04:57Given that these North Korean prisoners of war are soldiers who were dispatched to Russia and also defectors,
05:00there is a high likelihood they will be placed under the exclusive protection of the National Intelligence Service,
05:04prioritizing the safety of the North Korean prisoners of war.
05:05They will likely avoid officially confirming the repatriation,
05:08thoroughly keep them away from public exposure,
05:09and focus heavily on their personal protection.
05:11And later, when they are integrated into society,
05:13they are very likely to live under new names and identities.
05:15So, what lies ahead is even more important.
05:17Although there are only two North Korean prisoners of war repatriated to South Korea this time,
05:20we must also consider the possibility that more North Korean soldiers could be captured
05:23as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues.
05:25If a similar situation arises again which country the POW wishes to go to,
05:29what procedures Ukraine will follow to transfer custody,
05:31and to what extent they will share information with the South Korean government,
05:33could once again become crucial issues.
05:35In particular, the fact that a disagreement arose over the disclosure method,
05:38even while the two countries cooperated on the repatriation itself like this time,
05:41remains a variable.
05:42If diplomatic tensions between South Korea and Ukraine persist,
05:44both countries will inevitably become far more cautious when exchanging information
05:47or coordinating repatriation procedures if more North Korean POWs emerge in the future.
05:51If Ukraine has custody of the prisoners,
05:52it's not like the South Korean government can unilaterally decide on repatriation either,
05:55because procedures requiring Ukraine's cooperation could arise,
05:58yet we cannot simply assume that the likelihood of Ukraine refusing to cooperate is necessarily high.
06:02That's because handling North Korean POWs is a matter where various factors,
06:05including international law, humanitarian principles,
06:08and the prisoners' own wishes, must be considered together.
06:10However, if situations like this recur,
06:12where both countries interpret their agreements differently on the same issue,
06:14it is quite possible that consultations could become far more complicated than before
06:17whenever new POWs emerge.
06:19Another important factor is the will of the prisoners themselves.
06:22Even if a North Korean POW wishes to go to South Korea,
06:24the process can vary depending on how that intent is verified,
06:26when it is communicated to the South Korean government,
06:28and what roles third countries or international organizations will play.
06:31On top of that, when you factor in the prisoners' identities and safety concerns,
06:34there are bound to be many aspects that are difficult to handle publicly.
06:36Therefore, this incident could serve as a precedent for how South Korea and Ukraine
06:39will consult with each other if additional North Korean POWs are captured in the future.
06:43In particular, if not only the repatriation of prisoners,
06:45but also the timing and scope of information disclosure are not clearly coordinated in advance,
06:49similar diplomatic controversies could happen again.
06:51Then, how would North Korea view this incident?
06:53As of now, it hasn't been clearly confirmed whether North Korea has issued any official statement
06:56regarding the repatriation of these two North Korean POWs to South Korea,
07:00so it's difficult to say for sure what kind of action North Korea will take going forward.
07:03However, from North Korea's perspective,
07:04there are clearly aspects of this case that are bound to be sensitive.
07:06First, the very fact that North Korean soldiers were captured as POWs
07:10on an overseas battlefield could be a burden for North Korea.
07:12On top of that, the fact that they came to South Korea
07:14instead of returning to North Korea is also a separate matter.
07:16Because for North Korea, not only were its soldiers captured as POWs in a foreign country,
07:19but those individuals ended up settling in South Korea.
07:21In particular, the established principle agreed upon by both South Korea and Ukraine
07:25was that this repatriation would be carried out in a way
07:28that respects the will of the prisoners themselves.
07:30During the South Korea-Ukraine foreign ministers' meeting last June,
07:32both nations also addressed the North Korean POW issue,
07:35agreeing to respect the individual's free will,
07:36international law, and humanitarian principles.
07:38We'll have to wait and see what position North Korea actually takes going forward.
07:41They might take issue with the prisoners being sent to South Korea itself,
07:44or they might not issue any official response at all.
07:45I suspect the state of affairs will probably continue as it is.
