Seoul threatens further action if Ukraine does not apologise over North Korean POW row

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung warned on October 2, 2026 that Seoul would take "further action" if Ukraine fails to apologise over a diplomatic dispute concerning North Korean prisoners of war captured by Ukrainian forces. Lee also accused Kyiv of "attempting to provoke a war on the Korean Peninsula."

Dispute over North Korean POWs in Ukraine

The controversy centres on the treatment and public display of North Korean soldiers captured while fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine. Seoul has objected strongly to how Kyiv has handled the matter, arguing it creates a serious diplomatic and security risk for the Korean Peninsula, which remains technically at war since 1953.

President Lee's comments represent a sharp escalation in relations between Seoul and Kyiv. South Korea had previously supplied humanitarian aid and non-lethal military equipment to Ukraine following Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

Geopolitical implications for Korea

North Korean troops have been deployed alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, creating a direct link between the war and Korean Peninsula security. The deployment of DPRK soldiers in a foreign war is itself highly sensitive for Seoul, and any public display of captured North Koreans is seen as a provocation that could trigger unpredictable responses from Pyongyang.

South Korea has repeatedly expressed concern that its security could be drawn into the conflict indirectly. This latest diplomatic row threatens to further strain one of Kyiv's key partnerships in East Asia.