South Korea-Ukraine Crisis Escalates With New Threat

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung threatened to take unspecified measures against Ukraine unless Kyiv acknowledges what Seoul describes as a secret agreement concerning the transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers and offers an apology.

Lee said in a post on "X": "If the refusal to acknowledge the facts and provide a public apology continues, we will take further action."

Lee also expressed "deep regret" over Ukrainian statements describing an imminent military clash between the two Koreas, calling them incitement to war on the Korean Peninsula.

Seoul and Kyiv have been embroiled in a diplomatic dispute since Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced at the UN General Assembly last month that his country had transferred prisoners of war from North Korea to South Korea while fighting alongside Russia.

Seoul subsequently accused Kyiv of violating an agreement to keep the transfer operation confidential to protect the soldiers, while Ukrainian officials denied the existence of such an agreement.

Ukrainian media quoted Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha as saying that Kyiv seeks to repair relations with South Korea.

Sybiha told journalists during an event: "I do not want to describe this as an incident. Let us say it is a diplomatic misunderstanding."