The key facts

  • The foreign ministers of South Korea and Ukraine held their first in-person talks since the September dispute
  • Seoul sought an apology and measures to prevent a recurrence of the incident
  • Kyiv confirmed its readiness for a 'dynamic and pragmatic' partnership

First meeting since the dispute

The foreign ministers of South Korea and Ukraine, Cho Hyun and Andrii Sybiha, met on Tuesday on the sidelines of the G7 foreign ministers' meeting in Paris. It was their first in-person talks since relations between the two countries soured in September over Kyiv's public disclosure of information about the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to Seoul, the Yonhap agency reported, citing the South Korean foreign ministry.

The parties' positions

According to the South Korean foreign ministry, Cho stressed that mutual respect, trust and good-faith fulfillment of bilateral agreements are the basic conditions for developing relations, and expressed hope that the accumulated issues would be resolved. As Yonhap notes, this concerned primarily the dispute over the prisoners of war: Seoul demanded an apology and measures to prevent a recurrence of such an incident. At the same time, Cho said South Korea would continue to look for ways to provide humanitarian aid and support Ukraine's reconstruction.

Statements from Kyiv

Sybiha, according to the ministry, called for joint diplomatic efforts to maintain the stability of bilateral relations and strengthen them. In a post on X, he said steps toward the 'full normalization' of relations still lie ahead, confirmed Kyiv's readiness to develop a 'dynamic and pragmatic' partnership with Seoul, thanked South Korea for its support of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and once again invited Cho to visit Ukraine. The ministers also discussed regional issues, including the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

Background of the dispute

Tensions arose after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a September address to the UN General Assembly, disclosed the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea. In response, last month Seoul recalled its ambassador to Ukraine and withdrew about half of the embassy's staff. No specific agreements reached at the Paris meeting were mentioned in the reports — the parties limited themselves to statements of intent.