BreakingSeoul pulls embassy staff from Kyiv as North Korean POW dispute deepens
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy participates in a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump during the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, Sept. 22. Reuters-Yonhap
South Korea decided to withdraw some embassy staff from Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday, citing Kyiv’s failure to take steps to resolve a weekslong diplomatic dispute and persistent airstrike threats across the war-torn country.
The move marks a further escalation in the diplomatic row, after Seoul last week recalled its ambassador to Ukraine, Park Ki-chang, over Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s public disclosure on Sept. 23 of the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea.
“We have conveyed our government’s position to Ukraine through various channels, but judged that it has not taken constructive steps,” a ministry spokesperson said during a regular briefing. “The decision was made after comprehensively considering the circumstances, including the continuing risk of airstrikes throughout Ukraine.”
The spokesperson did not specify how many staff members would leave or when the withdrawal would take place.
He said necessary diplomatic communication will continue through the chargé d’affaires. All personnel providing consular services will remain in Ukraine to protect Korean nationals.