South Korea recalls ambassador as row with Ukraine escalates

South Korea will recall its ambassador to Ukraine, the foreign ministry has said, as tensions between the two countries escalate over a prisoner of war return.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry did not specify when the ambassador, Park Hee-chang, would return. 

It added the country would continue to negotiate with Kyiv and hoped the current issues between the two nations could be resolved.

The countries have been locked in a diplomatic dispute after Seoul accused Kyiv of breaching a confidentiality agreement over the transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed the supposedly secret transfer during a UN speech last month.

South Korea accused the president of violating a non-disclosure agreement on their transfer, but Kyiv denied ever agreeing to such a deal. 

The move to recall its ambassador came just days after South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called for an apology over the incident and threatened to take further steps if Ukraine refused.

Earlier this week, Ukraine also accused South Korea of helping Russia ease its fuel crisis caused by drone strikes.

More than 30 per cent of Russia's fuel imports in August came from South Korea, Ukraine's top sanctions official Vladyslav Vlasiuk said on Tuesday.

Soldiers wanted to resettle in South Korea

The two prisoners of war returned to South Korea recently were among thousands of North Korean troops deployed to support Russia in its war against Ukraine. 

Since their capture in early 2025, the soldiers had asked to resettle in South Korea, because they could face persecution if repatriated home. 

South Korea had said it would accept them, because it legally regards North Korea as part of its territory and has a policy of accepting and financially supporting North Korean defectors.

North Korea's state media has not commented on the soldiers' transfer. 

But Pyongyang has previously reacted angrily to major defections of its citizens, accusing South Korea of kidnapping them. 

South Korean officials said the non-disclosure agreement with Ukraine was made because they were concerned about the safety of the North Korean soldiers and their relatives, but some experts say South Korea may be worried the disclosure could hurt their efforts to improve relations with North Korea.

South Korea has previously supported the Ukraine war effort, providing more than $640 million in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine since 2022. In July, the country promised $143 million in aid during a meeting with Mr Zelenskyy.