South Korea’s spy agency said Wednesday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s recent revelation of a supposedly secret transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to the South was likely meant to generate public support in this Asian democracy for greater assistance to Ukraine.
Zelenskyy’s disclosure during his UN speech last week of the transfer of the captured soldiers has stunned South Korea and drawn strong protests. Seoul called on Kyiv to apologise and explain the violation of what it said was a nondisclosure agreement about the transfer. Ukraine denied agreeing to any such deal.
The soldiers were among thousands sent by North Korea to help Russia repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region as part of expanding cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow. North Korea has supplied conventional weapons to Russia as well.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service held a closed-door meeting with a parliament committee on Wednesday about the matter.
According to lawmaker Yoo Yeong-ha who attended the meeting, the committee was told there has been no apology or expression of regret from Ukraine — either through official or unofficial channels.
The intelligence service assessed that Zelenskyy likely disclosed the transfer with the intention to rally public support in South Korea in favour of supplying weapons and other assistance to Ukraine, Yoo said.
Yoo did not elaborate or say how the intelligence service made its assessment.
