“The transfer of North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea was a voluntary step on Ukraine’s part which, unfortunately, did not receive an adequate response from South Korea. I would therefore be more inclined to view this episode as a communication miscalculation rather than as a deliberate move by President Zelensky”

Nataliya Butyrska, Associate Senior Fellow at the New Europe Center, comments for the Korea JoongAng Daily – one of South Korea’s leading English-language newspapers – on the diplomatic dispute between Kyiv and Seoul over the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea.

Nataliya Butyrska notes that Ukrainian society has generally been understanding of the decision to hand over the prisoners, as South Korea is widely viewed in Ukraine as a natural partner. Seoul’s reaction, however, proved unexpectedly strong – the expert suggests that domestic political considerations may have contributed to it, while Zelensky’s office most likely did not anticipate such a response.

She also draws attention to the broader context: making the transfer public was apparently an attempt to highlight Russia’s recruitment and involvement of soldiers from various countries in its war against Ukraine – Kyiv currently holds prisoners of war from 47 states. Russia, meanwhile, had delayed prisoner exchanges for six months in an effort to secure the two men’s return.

Despite the diplomatic tensions, Nataliya Butyrska expresses hope that Ukraine’s new ambassador to Seoul will be able to take up the post soon and rebuild trust between the two countries, particularly given that the Kyiv–Seoul dialogue had only recently begun to gain momentum.

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