South Korea's presidential office said Sunday that Ukraine's public statement denying any confidential agreement on the return of North Korean prisoners of war was untrue, and it called on Kyiv to issue a formal apology, according to 한겨레.
The Blue House's position was reported by 한겨레 and carried in a separate JTBC report, both of which described the presidential office as rejecting Ukraine's account of the arrangement.
The dispute concerns North Korean soldiers captured in the war in Ukraine. According to 경향신문, two North Korean prisoners who were transferred to South Korea are classified as defectors, and the National Intelligence Service may investigate and temporarily protect them for up to 120 days.
A 조선일보 report, meanwhile, said the North Korean prisoners have complained of depression after roughly a year and eight months of restricted activity.
Together, the reports point to an ongoing disagreement between Seoul and Kyiv over what was or was not agreed regarding the prisoners, and over how the two transferred men have been handled since their arrival in the South.
The presidential office has not, in the material available, detailed what specific agreement it says existed or when it was reached. Ukraine has not publicly responded to the demand for an apology in the reporting summarized here.
What to watch next: whether Kyiv responds to Seoul's demand for an apology, and how the National Intelligence Service proceeds with its investigation and temporary protection of the two transferred prisoners.
