Ukraine's presidential office says transfer of North Korean POWs to South Korea came from direct talks with Seoul

Ukraine's presidential office said the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea was arranged through direct talks with Seoul.

Responding to a Yonhap query about the decision, the presidential office said Wednesday that the matter was "quite sensitive and involved direct dialogue with the Republic of Korea."

"They are of the Korean people," it added. "The Republic of Korea considers them its own nationals."

The office also dismissed claims that Russia had repeatedly requested custody of the two men, calling the assertions "not true" and saying "Russia had no interest in them."

President Volodymyr Zelensky disclosed at the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday that Ukraine had recently sent two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea.

The South Korean government neither confirmed nor denied the transfer, effectively acknowledging it through a low-key response.

Seoul has maintained that it would accept the North Korean POWs, who are considered South Korean nationals under the constitution, after they expressed a desire to defect through media interviews and organizations for North Korean defectors.

People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Yong-won said at a National Assembly press conference Wednesday that the two men are believed to have arrived in South Korea before Sept. 3-4.

Speaking with reporters after the conference, Yoo said, "As I understand it, they departed Ukraine last weekend, transited through a third country, and arrived in South Korea before Sept. 3-4."

While saying he did not know exactly where the men are now, Yoo said South Korea's intelligence authorities played a significant behind-the-scenes role and that "a relevant agency is likely protecting them."

Asked whether South Korea provided anything in return to Ukraine for the transfer, Yoo said he had "not confirmed" any such arrangement.

However, he said his understanding was that the Ukrainian government had decided to send the prisoners unconditionally, adding, "I presume the Ukrainian government kept that promise."

On the repatriation negotiations, Yoo said the two sides reached a basic agreement in principle around June, when Ukraine secretly dispatched a special envoy to meet with a senior South Korean foreign affairs official. He said the repatriation plan was subsequently reaffirmed through foreign minister talks and a bilateral summit between the two countries.