Three European countries convey willingness to mediate South Korea–Ukraine dispute

A South Korean foreign ministry official told reporters at the ministry building on the afternoon of the 15th that major European countries had conveyed their willingness to help ease strained relations between South Korea and Ukraine. The official said a message expressing hope that South Korea's support for Ukraine would continue had been conveyed to the European side.

The government plans to continue talks to seek common ground without cutting off support for Ukraine. A foreign ministry official said the additional measures mentioned by the president were intended to facilitate talks toward an amicable resolution, and that its basic position is that humanitarian assistance provided to date would be unaffected.

The dispute was triggered by the disclosure that North Korean prisoners of war had been sent to South Korea. After President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on the 23rd of last month that two North Korean prisoners of war had been sent to South Korea, the South Korean government demanded a formal apology and explanation from Ukraine, saying the two countries had agreed to handle the matter confidentially.

President Lee Jae-myung warned on the 2nd that additional measures would follow unless Ukraine issued a public apology, and the government recalled Park Ki-chang, its ambassador to Ukraine, to South Korea on the 10th. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on the 12th that Ukraine had fulfilled all its obligations and considered the matter closed, but the South Korean government objected, saying its demand for an apology remained in effect.