South Korea Pulls More Embassy Staff From Ukraine Over North Korean POW Disclosure Dispute

South Korea is withdrawing part of its embassy staff from Kyiv, escalating a diplomatic row triggered by Ukraine's public disclosure that it had transferred two North Korean prisoners of war to Seoul. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Park Du-sun cited Kyiv's failure to take any constructive action following the earlier recall of South Korea's ambassador, as well as the continued threat of Russian airstrikes on Ukraine, as reasons for the move.

The staff withdrawal follows a warning from South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who had threatened unspecified punitive steps unless Ukraine apologized for revealing what Seoul considered a secret transfer of the two North Korean POWs. A charge d'affaires will remain to handle essential diplomatic contacts, and consular staff will stay in place to assist South Korean nationals in Ukraine.

The episode marks a significant cooling of ties between Seoul and Kyiv, two countries that had maintained broadly cooperative relations during the war in Ukraine. By pulling additional personnel after already recalling its ambassador, South Korea is signaling that it regards Kyiv's response as wholly inadequate and that further diplomatic consequences remain possible if the dispute is not resolved.