Ukraine's top envoy makes rare visit to Seoul, but no movement on North Korean POW transfer

A rare visit to Seoul by the Ukrainian foreign minister ended Tuesday, reportedly without a breakthrough on the transfer of North Korean prisoners of war (POWs) to South Korea.

On Tuesday, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha in Seoul to discuss bilateral issues, including North Korean POWs and Ukraine's postwar reconstruction. It marked the first visit to South Korea by a Ukrainian foreign minister in 11 years.

Tuesday’s meeting at the Foreign Ministry was attended by Baek Yong-jin, director general for Korean Peninsula policy, and Park Hyung-chul, director general for European affairs. Ukrainian diplomat Zhanna Leshchynska, who serves as director of Asia and the Pacific, was also present.

The two ministers shared their opinions on geopolitical issues, namely the war in Ukraine and the situation on the Korean Peninsula. 

“We spoke about shared challenges stemming from the deepening cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang,” Sybiha wrote on X after the bilateral ministerial talks.

The Ukrainian minister noted that he emphasized that “Russia’s aggression has global consequences,” which include “Moscow’s direct engagement of the DPRK into its war against Ukraine and everything that Russia provides North Korea in return.”

The DPRK stands for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Ukrainian officials are believed to have shared recent battlefield updates, including long-range drone strikes on Russian oil facilities, and to have shared insights into Russia’s growing transfers of resources and technology to North Korea.

Earlier Tuesday, Sybiha visited the Joint Security Area at Panmunjom in the inter-Korean border area.

“Behind this line lies a totalitarian regime that actively helps Russia destroy peaceful Ukrainian cities,” Sybiha wrote on his social media.

“Due to the dangerous actions of Pyongyang and Moscow, this historic line is now physically linked to our own front lines in Ukraine,” Sybiha added.

The two ministers also discussed the issue of North Korean POWs. 

"The two ministers agreed to seek a solution to the issue of North Korean POWs in Ukraine that respects the individuals' free will and is consistent with international law and humanitarian principles," the South Korean Foreign Ministry said about Tuesday's meeting. 

“We also discussed in detail the issue of North Korean POWs [prisoners of war], and we know how to proceed with respect to international humanitarian law,” the Ukrainian minister said.

“We are seeking to facilitate their transfer to South Korea as quickly as possible in accordance with their free will,” a senior Foreign Ministry official told reporters on June 22. 

In March, Seoul and Kyiv agreed to resolve the issue together in line with international law and humanitarian principles during a bilateral meeting in Yvelines, France, on the sidelines of the Group of Seven foreign ministers' meeting. The remarks largely suggest that the two governments are still struggling to reach an agreement on the details after March.

“Ukraine is likely weighing a range of factors, including domestic public opinion, before deciding whether to send the North Korean POWs to South Korea,” a diplomatic source said.

In January last year, Ukrainian forces captured two North Korean soldiers on the front line in Russia's Kursk region. The two later said in media interviews that they wished to resettle in South Korea.

The South Korean government has since held consultations with Kyiv, in line with its policy of accepting all North Korean defectors. Seoul officially stated that the prisoners "should not be forcibly repatriated to North Korea.”

On Monday, Ukraine also sought South Korea's support for its postwar reconstruction. Sybiha attended a business roundtable on Ukraine's reconstruction hosted by the Korea Overseas Infrastructure and Urban Development Corporation, where he emphasized the need for joint investment projects between the two countries.

The meeting, held at Ukraine's request, brought together South Korean Foreign Ministry officials, the head of South Korea’s state-managed Ukraine reconstruction task force, as well as representatives from Korea National Railway, Korea Railroad Corporation and Posco International. The participants discussed reconstruction projects and broader avenues for bilateral cooperation.

“We outlined critical areas for joint ventures, including decentralized energy, advanced logistics and infrastructure reconstruction,” Sybiha wrote in a separate post on X on Monday. “Looking forward, we see massive opportunities to merge our strengths, from high-tech agriculture to defense industry cooperation. Ukraine's battle-tested drone technologies and dynamic defense sector offer incredible synergy for both security and civil use.”

South Korea's Foreign Ministry noted that Cho explained that the "South Korean government has continued providing humanitarian assistance for Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction." 

BY SHIM SEOK-YONG [[email protected]]