South Korean diplomat says Ukraine talks set no disclosure timeline

South Korea and Ukraine did not discuss when to make their talks on repatriating captured North Korean soldiers public, a South Korean diplomat said Sunday, according to The Korea Times. He said the countries nevertheless understood that the discussions should remain confidential as long as possible.

The testimony highlights a dispute over whether the countries had a binding understanding on confidentiality: South Korea alleges Ukraine broke a nondisclosure agreement, while Ukraine denies such an agreement existed. South Korea recalled Ambassador Park Ki-chang amid the disagreement.

Yoon Ji-wan, charge d'affaires at the South Korean Embassy in Ukraine, testified by video from Kyiv at a parliamentary foreign affairs subcommittee audit at the South Korean Embassy in Poland, The Korea Times reported. He represented the embassy in Ukraine following Park's recall.

The disagreement followed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's disclosure of the repatriation during his Sept. 23 speech to the U.N. General Assembly. Yoon said the announcement surprised the South Korean Embassy in Ukraine and that Ukrainian officials had not offered a specific explanation for making it public.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha recently rejected South Korea's request for an apology in a media interview and said he regarded the matter as closed, according to the newspaper. Yoon, meanwhile, said criticism had surfaced within Ukraine over internal coordination and the disclosure.

Lawmakers questioned why the confidentiality arrangement had not been put in writing. Yoon said formalizing a diplomatic agreement in writing would make it a treaty. He also said Ukraine had not further challenged South Korea's claims, which he interpreted as supporting Seoul's position that an agreement existed.

Yoon said both countries viewed the prisoners' repatriation as an important achievement and understood that the dispute should be resolved while preserving stability and trust in their relationship, according to The Korea Times.