Relations Between Kyiv, Seoul Warming After North Korean POW Row, Ukrainian Minister Says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the 81st session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City, on Sept. 23, 2026. Seth Wenig/AP Photo

Relations between Kyiv and Seoul are warming, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Tuesday, after the two countries fell out over the repatriation of a pair of North Korean prisoners of war earlier this year.

Sybiha said he met with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun on the sidelines of a G7 meeting in Paris, expressing hope that the nations’ relationship was on the way to “full normalisation,” in a Nov. 10 post on X.

Ukraine’s top diplomat said he and his counterpart in Seoul “had a meaningful discussion on ways to end the war,” adding that he valued Cho’s “insightful views drawing on the Republic of Korea’s own historical experience.”

He added that he reaffirmed Ukraine’s “willingness to develop a dynamic and pragmatic partnership” with South Korea, based on “mutual interests and the shared security threats posed by the DPRK’s involvement in Russia’s aggression.”

“I am convinced that further steps lie ahead towards the full normalisation of our bilateral relations, and this is the outcome we are working to achieve,” Sybiha said, adding that he had reiterated his invitation for Cho to visit Ukraine.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Cho underscored that mutual respect and the faithful implementation of bilateral accords are “basic prerequisites” for the improvement of relations between Seoul and Kyiv during his talks with Sybiha, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported on Wednesday.

Cho also “expressed hope that pending issues between the countries will be smoothly resolved,” during what Yonhap described as the first in-person meeting between the two ministers since the dispute erupted in September.

He added that South Korea maintains its basic stance on assisting Kyiv, saying that Seoul will continue exploring ways to provide humanitarian aid and support for Ukraine’s reconstruction.

The row between the two countries was sparked after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced at the U.N. General Assembly that Ukraine had transferred two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea.

Seoul said there was an understanding that the repatriation would remain secret and demanded an official apology, while Kyiv said no such agreement was in place.

A diplomatic argument ensued between the two nations, which resulted in South Korea recalling its ambassador as well as numerous other diplomatic staff from its embassy in Ukraine.

The two North Korean troops were among thousands deployed by Pyongyang to support Russia in the Ukraine war.

Ukrainian forces captured the two North Koreans in Russia’s Kursk region in January 2025, with Zelenskyy at the time describing the pair as the first North Korean soldiers to be captured alive since Pyongyang sent troops to fight alongside Moscow’s forces.

Addressing the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 23, Zelenskyy said that the two North Koreans were “not easy to capture alive.”

“One of them, when he realized he was going to be taken prisoner, tried to kill himself. And he was shocked that fate didn’t let him die,” the Ukrainian president said.

“This is how they raise people in the North. It’s reality. They take away their freedom. They take away their right to choose. And they drill into them that they must die, no matter what.”