Photo: RBC
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said Tuesday that Seoul could sever diplomatic relations with Ukraine if a dispute over North Korean prisoners of war continues to escalate.
“If the escalation continues, I believe that possibility also exists,” Cho said when asked whether the current diplomatic crisis with Kyiv could lead to a break in relations, according to Koreancenter.
South Korea recently recalled eight diplomats from Ukraine amid a dispute over the disclosure of information about the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war.
Earlier in October, Seoul also recalled its ambassador to Kyiv, Park Ki-chan, and subsequently decided to reduce the staffing of its embassy.
Dispute over North Korean prisoners
The diplomatic dispute intensified after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced at the UN General Assembly on September 23 that Ukraine had transferred two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said the disclosure violated an agreement to keep the matter confidential. Seoul said secrecy was intended to protect the soldiers and their families still living in North Korea.
Ukraine’s presidential office, however, denied that any agreement had been reached to keep the case secret.
