Major European countries have offered to mediate between South Korea and Ukraine as a diplomatic rift over the repatriation of North Korean prisoners of war drags on, while urging Seoul to continue its aid to Kyiv, officials said. The government said it will maintain its existing principles on aid to Ukraine regardless of the dispute.
"Major European countries have expressed interest in the recent strain in relations between South Korea and Ukraine over the repatriation of North Korean soldiers and have conveyed their willingness to play a role in turning the situation around," a Foreign Ministry official told reporters at the ministry building in Seoul on the 15th.
The official said major European countries hold South Korea's strategic standing and capabilities in high regard, adding that they "have been sharply stepping up communication and coordination with us on the international situation and key issues such as the Strait of Hormuz and Ukraine, through diplomatic and security channels at all levels."
Those countries also conveyed a message that they expect South Korea's aid to Ukraine to continue, alongside their offer to help resolve the bilateral dispute.
"The government's policy is to continue maintaining its principled position on aid to Ukraine as a responsible member of the international community," the Foreign Ministry official said. "That said, we will continue to discuss issues with Ukraine on a bilateral basis."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed in a speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 23 that two North Korean soldiers captured after being deployed to Russia had been repatriated to South Korea. The South Korean government demanded a formal apology, saying Ukraine unilaterally made the disclosure even though the two countries had agreed to keep the repatriation confidential. Ukraine countered that no such confidentiality agreement existed, bringing the dispute into the open.
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said at a parliamentary audit by the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee on Oct. 6 that the ministry had received a message from Ukraine containing an expression of apology, but that it fell short of what the government had expected. The government decided on Oct. 8 to recall Ambassador to Ukraine Park Ki-chang in protest. Park returned home on the 10th and briefed Cho on the situation there on the 12th.