The Republic of Korea says it has started withdrawing its embassy staff from Ukraine following a disagreement with Kyiv regarding the public disclosure of classified information concerning North Korean prisoners of war.
The South Korean Foreign Ministry formally announced this decision on Tuesday, indicating that the withdrawal was undertaken to facilitate resolution of the disagreement and restore confidence between the two allied nations.
Seoul had recalled its ambassador in the early part of this month following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's public statement during the United Nations General Assembly, wherein he disclosed that Ukraine had transferred two arrested North Korean military personnel to South Korea.
The South Korean government contended that the public disclosure violated their earlier agreement with Ukraine to maintain confidentiality regarding the transfer particulars in order to safeguard the prisoners and their respective families residing in North Korea.
The ministry indicated that it had conveyed its objections to Kyiv through multiple diplomatic channels; however, it had not obtained a response deemed satisfactory by South Korean officials.
"We implemented this measure because we consider it essential to facilitate amicable resolution of this matter and restore confidence between our two nations," stated Foreign Ministry spokesperson Park Doo-soon during an official briefing on Tuesday.
Park declined to disclose the specific number of embassy personnel to be withdrawn but confirmed that a chargé d'affaires would remain stationed in Kyiv to preserve diplomatic communication between the two governments.
He further noted that consular personnel would continue their presence in Ukraine to provide assistance and protection to South Korean citizens.
The prevailing security circumstances in Ukraine also influenced this determination, with Park noting that persistent threats of aerial bombardment had created substantial obstacles to ensuring the protection of diplomatic staff members.
The disagreement originated from Ukraine's disclosure of the transfer of the two North Korean detainees, who had been captured while serving in combat operations alongside Russian military forces in the ongoing conflict against Ukraine.
The South Korean government had previously sought custody of the prisoners due to their North Korean origin and the valuable intelligence they could potentially furnish regarding the Pyongyang regime.
War: South Korea begins withdrawal of embassy staff from Ukraine