South Korea says Ukraine broke secrecy pact on POW transfer

South Korea said Sunday it strongly regretted Ukraine’s disclosure that two captured North Korean soldiers had been transferred to South Korea, and accused Kyiv of denying an agreement to keep the transfer confidential. Seoul said it was considering additional measures, if necessary, as the disagreement raised concerns about trust between the two governments. Seong Ghihong, a senior presidential secretary for public relations, said in a statement that Ukraine had disclosed the transfer and then falsely announced that no nondisclosure agreement existed. South Korea’s presidential office said the alleged denial was seriously damaging bilateral trust. Seoul has also demanded an official explanation and apology, according to reports on its response. The existence of an agreement is disputed. South Korean officials say Ukraine had requested secrecy and that the two sides agreed not to make the transfer public. Ukrainian media, meanwhile, reported that an unnamed source from the Ukrainian presidential office denied that Kyiv had made a confidentiality agreement with Seoul.