Seoul has voiced frustration with President Volodymyr Zelensky after the Ukrainian leader rejected a request for secrecy concerning the transfer of military prisoners. The South Korean presidency expressed strong regret over the refusal of a nondisclosure agreement and is contemplating additional actions on the issue, Yonhap reports. The affected personnel are the first two North Korean soldiers captured alive since Pyongyang joined the war in 2024 and were handed over to South Korea after two years in captivity.

The diplomatic tension began when Zelensky revealed the prisoners' status during a speech at the UN General Assembly. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung criticized the disclosure as a violation of a confidentiality agreement and a risk to national security, while Kyiv denies any such secret pact existed, arguing it would be wrong to hide the soldiers' location. A senior Blue House official previously stated that support for Ukraine would continue despite the dispute.