Ukraine proactively requested secrecy over North Korean POW transfer, NIS says; Kim Ju-ae's standing as heir apparent strengthens

South Korea's National Intelligence Service said Wednesday that Ukraine had proactively requested strict confidentiality from the outset of talks over the repatriation of North Korean prisoners of war, citing concerns about the potential impact on future prisoner exchange negotiations.

The NIS delivered the briefing at a closed-door plenary session of the National Assembly's intelligence committee. Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Yoon Geon-young and People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Young-ha, who lead their respective parties' sides on the committee, relayed the contents to reporters afterward.

Yoo said the NIS reported that after two North Korean soldiers were captured on Jan. 9, 2025, the South Korean government held consultations with Ukraine, with the NIS working alongside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to handle the repatriation. "Both sides agreed from the very beginning to keep the matter confidential," Yoo quoted the agency as saying.

The NIS added that there had been no confidential agreement or consultation between the two countries' heads of state, but that a non-disclosure understanding had been reached through communications between diplomatic officials and embassy staff. Ukraine had been the first to request confidentiality, the agency said, out of concern that disclosure could negatively affect prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine as well as with third countries.

Yoo said the NIS also reported that the South Korean government had respected Ukraine's position while maintaining strict confidentiality on humanitarian grounds, taking into account the safety of the prisoners themselves and their families in North Korea. Despite the agreement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky unilaterally disclosed that the North Korean soldiers had been sent to South Korea, and a Ukrainian presidential office official subsequently denied that any confidentiality agreement had ever been made, the NIS said.

The NIS reported that in response, the South Korean government expressed strong displeasure to Ukraine on Sunday and demanded an official explanation and apology. As of Wednesday, however, Ukraine had not offered any expression of regret or apology, formally or informally, the agency said.

Yoo said NIS Director Lee Jong-seok told the committee that Ukraine had attached no conditions to the transfer and that South Korea had provided no support to Ukraine in connection with the repatriation.

Yoon said the NIS reported that the two North Korean POWs were in generally good health. The agency also said their willingness to come to South Korea had been confirmed on multiple occasions, and that they arrived in the country in mid-September.

Meanwhile, the NIS told the committee that the standing of Kim Ju-ae — Kim Jong-un's daughter and designated heir — is growing stronger, with her protocol status and level of participation in official events being elevated. The agency said she has been expanding her public appearances beyond military affairs into areas including domestic policy, politics and diplomacy, and has made 30 public appearances this year, the highest frequency on record.

The NIS also disclosed for the first time to the Assembly its own assessment of Kim Ju-ae's physical profile, reporting that she stands approximately 160 centimeters tall and weighs more than 50 kilograms.

On Kim Jong-un's health, the NIS said he weighs in the 140-kilogram range and is severely obese, but shows no signs of health problems. The agency said that while he falls into a high-risk group for cardiovascular disease, he has been observed climbing stairs briskly during an inspection of a destroyer and is under close care by a dedicated medical team, leading the NIS to conclude there are no notable signs of health deterioration.

The NIS also weighed in on a statement issued Wednesday by Kim Yo-jong, director of the Korean Workers' Party's General Affairs Department, in which she flatly denied the South Korean military's assessment that a recent explosion in the Demilitarized Zone was most likely caused by a North Korean land mine. The agency said it assessed her statement as having been delivered in a "low-key, restrained tone."