South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has threatened to take unspecified punitive measures against Ukraine if it refuses to apologize for publicly revealing that it secretly transferred two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea, the Associated Press reported.
Seoul and Kiev are embroiled in a diplomatic dispute, with South Korea strongly protesting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's revelation of the transfer during his speech to the United Nations General Assembly last week. South Korea accuses Ukraine of violating a non-disclosure agreement over the transfer, but Kiev denies agreeing to such an arrangement.
The arrival of the North Korean soldiers last month could also create problems for South Korea's liberal government, which hopes to improve relations with Pyongyang. Despite the escalation in its rhetoric, however, many experts say Seoul is unlikely to take drastic measures, as good relations with Ukraine are in its national interest and will strengthen its partnerships with other Western countries, the AP notes.
The transfer of the North Korean soldiers could complicate Seoul's efforts to negotiate with Pyongyang, as North Korea has in the past reacted sharply to the escapes of its citizens to South Korea and accused Seoul of kidnapping them.
"Our government's policy is to restore interrupted dialogue with North Korea and ease tensions. "That's why it wanted to handle the prisoner issue discreetly," said Moon Seong-mook, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Strategy Research in Seoul.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myeon said his government was making coordinated efforts to resume talks between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump, hoping it would help restart his talks with North Korea and strengthen peace on the Korean Peninsula, the AP reported.