NIS says secret agreement on North Korean POW repatriation reached through multiple channels

South Korea's National Intelligence Service said Wednesday that a secret agreement had been reached through multiple channels — including a phone call between the two countries' foreign ministers and consultations between the local embassy and Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs — regarding the repatriation of two North Korean soldiers captured in Ukraine.

The NIS delivered the briefing at a closed-door session of the National Assembly's intelligence committee that day. Yoo Young-ha of the People Power Party and Yun Geon-yeong of the Democratic Party of Korea, who lead their respective parties' sides on the committee, relayed the report to reporters.

Yoo said at the briefing that there had been no secret consultations or agreement between the two countries' heads of state, but that a confidential agreement had been reached as diplomatic officials and embassy staff communicated with each other.

The NIS subsequently issued a text notice to clarify the record, saying it had responded that while it did not know whether a summit-level agreement existed, a secret agreement had been reached through multiple channels.

According to the NIS, after two North Korean soldiers were captured on Jan. 9, 2025, the South Korean government began repatriation talks with Ukraine. The NIS worked with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to support the process. Both sides agreed from the outset to keep the matter from becoming public.

Ukraine made the first request for confidentiality. The NIS reported that Ukraine proactively asked, from the early stages of the talks, that strict secrecy be maintained, citing concerns that disclosure could negatively affect prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine as well as negotiations over third-country prisoners. The South Korean government respected that request and said it had maintained secrecy in accordance with humanitarian principles, taking into account the safety of the prisoners themselves and their families in North Korea.

The NIS reported that despite the agreement, Ukraine's president unilaterally disclosed the repatriation. The South Korean government expressed regret Sunday and demanded an official explanation and apology, but Ukraine has yet to offer any expression of regret or apology, either officially or informally.