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Zelenskyy adviser denies agreement with Seoul to keep transfer of North Korean POWs secret

Pravda.Ua • September 25, 2026

Dmytro Lytvyn, communications adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has denied that Ukraine breached an agreement with South Korea not to disclose information the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war.

Source: Lytvyn in response to a post by Oksana Torop , media adviser to Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine's ambassador to the UK

Details: Torop had written that Zelenskyy went to New York and publicly announced the transfer of the POWs to South Korea. "But the thing is, there was an agreement between the countries and a non-disclosure agreement… And yet we know it. A show, hype, a striking effect for a striking picture. Here we go," she wrote.

Lytvyn replied under the post that this was not true. "There was no such agreement. That is not true. And it would be wrong to conceal where particular prisoners are being sent," he said.

Previously: South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said that Ukraine had breached a non-disclosure agreement by publicly revealing that two North Korean prisoners of war had been sent to South Korea, and that making this information public could lead to numerous problems.

In 2025, the Ukrainian military captured two North Korean soldiers in Russia's Kursk Oblast.

It later emerged that a fake military ID discovered on a captured North Korean soldier in Kursk Oblast had been issued in the name of a real person from the Russian Republic of Tyva (Tuva).

During his address to the UN General Assembly on 23 September, Zelenskyy mentioned that Ukraine had recently sent two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea.

He also said one of the North Korean soldiers had tried to kill himself after realising he had been captured, noting that this reflected the way people are indoctrinated in North Korea.

Zelenskyy also addressed the representatives of the 47 countries whose citizens Russia is using in its war against Ukraine, urging them to look after their people and prevent Russia from drawing them into the war and sending them to fight on a foreign front.

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The full story

This article is one source in a clustered incident — the cluster page carries the summary, timeline and every other outlet covering it.

Transfer of North Korean POWs to South Korea Amid Diplomatic Tensions Two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukrainian forces have been transferred to South Korea, as confirmed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a speech at the UN General Assembly on September 23, 2026. The soldiers were captured in January 2025 while fighting for Russia in the ongoing war against Ukraine. They expressed a desire to defect to South Korea after nearly 20 months of captivity. The South Korean government has not officially confirmed their arrival, citing security concerns for the soldiers and their families. The disclosure of the transfer has led to criticism from South Korean opposition lawmakers, who questioned the government's handling of the situation. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung expressed disappointment over the public announcement, which breached a confidentiality agreement with Ukraine. The soldiers are expected to receive protection under South Korean laws for defectors, and their whereabouts will be kept confidential for their safety. 9 sources 44

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