South Korea and Ukraine have taken a first step towards repairing relations after a diplomatic row over two North Korean prisoners of war. Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met his Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Sybiha, in Paris on 10 November, in their first face-to-face talks since the dispute erupted in September.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Group of Seven foreign ministers' meeting, which South Korea attended as an invited country. Both governments described the talks in conciliatory terms, and Sybiha said afterwards that relations were on the road to recovery.

What Seoul told Kyiv

According to South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cho told Sybiha that mutual respect, trust and the faithful implementation of agreements are the basic preconditions for developing relations between the two countries. Cho also expressed hope that the pending issues between them would be resolved smoothly.

Sybiha responded that the two sides should continue diplomatic efforts to manage and develop relations in a stable manner, the ministry said. Speaking to Ukrainian state television after the meeting, Sybiha said the two had a really good conversation and spoke frankly about the recent unpleasant events.

Sybiha also wrote on X that he was convinced further steps lay ahead towards the full normalisation of bilateral relations. Ukraine's foreign ministry said he expressed confidence that new steps towards full normalisation would follow, and welcomed the participation of South Korean companies in Ukraine's reconstruction.

How the dispute began

The row dates to 23 September, when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the United Nations General Assembly that Ukraine had sent two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea. The two soldiers had been captured in Russia's Kursk region in January 2025 and are the first North Korean troops taken prisoner in the war to be transferred to South Korea.

Seoul had expected the transfer to remain secret. The government says the two sides agreed to keep it confidential to protect the soldiers and their families still in North Korea, and President Lee Jae Myung called the disclosure a breach of that agreement. Ukraine's presidential office denied that any such agreement existed, saying it would be unusual to hand over the soldiers in secret.

South Korea pushed back by summoning Ukraine's acting ambassador to demand an official explanation and apology, and its National Intelligence Service said confidentiality had been agreed from the outset of the negotiations, at Ukraine's own request. In early October, Cho said Seoul had received a message of apology from Sybiha but that it fell short of expectations. South Korea recalled its ambassador to Ukraine on 8 October, its first protest recall of an envoy in 18 years, and on 20 October decided to pull half of its diplomats from the embassy in Kyiv.

Aid and reconstruction continue

Despite the row, both ministers agreed that humanitarian aid should continue. Cho told Sybiha that South Korea maintains its principled position of supporting Ukraine as a responsible member of the international community, and that the government will continue to review humanitarian assistance and ways to support the country's reconstruction.

The government has included 100 million dollars in aid for Ukraine in its budget proposal for next year, following through on a pledge President Lee made at the NATO summit in Ankara in July. Sybiha thanked Seoul for its support and said he hoped Ukraine would continue to consult closely with South Korea and the international community on achieving peace.

The two ministers also exchanged views on the situation on the Korean Peninsula and the war in Ukraine. The two soldiers at the centre of the dispute had expressed a wish to resettle in South Korea, and the two ministers had agreed in June to handle the prisoner issue in accordance with international law and humanitarian principles, respecting the soldiers' free will. Seoul considers them its citizens under its Constitution.

Neither government's account of the Paris meeting mentioned the apology Seoul has been demanding, and differences of perspective remain. But as one diplomatic source put it, behind-the-scenes communication continued even after the ambassador's recall, and both sides are now looking for common ground to resolve the situation. North Korea has sent an estimated 14,000 to 15,000 troops to support Russia's war against Ukraine since 2024, according to Ukrainian and South Korean estimates.