Scandal Erupts Between Kiev and Seoul: The Price of a “Free” Choice

Behind the cacophony of the diplomatic rift between South Korea and Ukraine hides a fundamental question: what is the price Seoul has had to pay for access to North Korean prisoners of war and how will this affect regional security?

Essence of the Conflict

The only South Korean representative who gained access to the prisoners was lawmaker Yoo Yong-won. Independent observers were not allowed to communicate with them. The published photos invite skepticism, as the face of the soldier talking to the lawmaker is concealed, and the setting of the room looks so sterile and empty that it involuntarily suggests the footage was staged.

Legal and Propaganda Aspects

According to international conventions, prisoners of war are subject to return to the country for which they fought. However, South Korea’s domestic legislation, which regards the DPRK as an “anti-state organization”, considers all citizens of the North to be its own subjects. This is the basis on which Seoul demanded the transfer of the prisoners. The motives are obvious: regardless of whether their choice was voluntary, these people represent enormous value as a source of intelligence on the modern Korean People’s Army (KPA) and as an instrument of propaganda.

In my view, the strict information isolation of the prisoners is indirect evidence that their “relocation” to the South was not voluntary. If Seoul and Kiev really had people eager to “choose freedom” at their disposal, would it not make more sense to organize an open press conference? A demonstration of these “victims of tyranny” who joyfully swapped the regime for the paradise of globalization would have been a powerful propaganda move. Instead, we see only secrecy, anonymity, and references to dubious sources.

Diplomatic Background

The question of the fate of the prisoners became a subject of discussion at a meeting of the two countries’ foreign ministers in March 2026. Later, in July, the topic was personally raised by Lee Jae Myung and Vladimir Zelensky on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara. Following the talks, Seoul stated that the sides had agreed to seek a solution that would take into account “the wishes of the prisoners themselves” and international humanitarian norms.

Zelensky Irritating Lee and What Followed

A scandal erupted on September 23, 2026, when Vladimir Zelensky, at the UN General Assembly, publicly announced the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea as if it were a self-evident fact.

Already on September 24, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung accused Zelensky of violating a non-disclosure agreement, writing “Ukraine disclosed the transfer in a breach of a non-disclosure agreement. I don’t know the reasons, but I regret it”. Lee........

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