South Korea says to recall ambassador from Ukraine
South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung (left) and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. (Photos: Reuters/Ahn Young-joon, Caitlin Ochs)
SEOUL: South Korea said on Thursday (Oct 8) that it will recall its ambassador to Ukraine in response to a deepening diplomatic row over the transfer of North Korean prisoners of war to Seoul.
The two countries have been at loggerheads since Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last month disclosed the prisoner transfer, sparking anger in Seoul, which said it had placed their families in North Korea at risk.
The recall also comes days after a media report alleged more than 176,000 tonnes of fuel, mostly diesel, had been shipped from South Korea to Russia in July and August, sparking accusations that Seoul was helping alleviate Russian fuel shortages.
"The government has decided to recall its ambassador to Ukraine," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
"The government hopes that all outstanding issues between the two countries will be resolved amicably and will continue consultations with the Ukrainian side to that end."
The Ukrainian Embassy in Seoul did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, North Korea has become a key ally of the Kremlin, sending troops to support Moscow's war effort in return for economic benefits and military technology.
South Korea's spy agency estimated last year that around 2,000 North Korean troops had been killed in the war, while a more recent assessment put the number killed or wounded at around 6,000.
Ukraine's hopes of armament supplies from Seoul have been complicated by the row over Zelenskyy's disclosure.
South Korea has so far not provided lethal weapons to Ukraine, citing a domestic ban on militarily aiding countries at war.
Seoul had already summoned Kyiv's ambassador and threatened unspecified "further measures" and President Lee Jae Myung has demanded an official apology over the prisoner revelation.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga has referred to the incident as a "diplomatic misunderstanding".
FUEL SHIPMENT ALLEGATIONS
A report in Britain's Guardian newspaper this week has threatened to deepen tensions, with allegations of fuel shipments to Russia coming as Ukraine has struck refineries deep in Russian territory while Moscow has been launching an all-time high of missile attacks.
An adviser to Zelensky said this week that the alleged diesel shipments stood in "sharp contrast" to South Korea's sanctions policies, remarks Seoul slammed as "factually incorrect" and "inappropriate".
Seoul has been part of a coalition of countries with enhanced export controls on Russia and its ally Belarus since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
But South Korea's foreign ministry on Thursday issued a statement saying that even if the fuel had originated in South Korea - something it argued had not been established - they would not fall foul of the country's export ban.
"Refined petroleum products, including commercial diesel and aviation fuel, mentioned in The Guardian's report, are not subject to South Korea's export controls against Russia," it said, noting that overall exports to Moscow had more than halved since the war's start.
