Zelenskyy adviser denies secret deal with Seoul on North Korean POWs transfer

What happened

Ukrainska Pravda English reports that Dmytro Lytvyn, communications adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, denied the existence of a non-disclosure agreement with South Korea concerning the public announcement of two transferred North Korean prisoners of war (POWs). This response came after South Korean President Lee Jae-myung accused Ukraine of breaching such an agreement by revealing the transfer information publicly.

Outside Brief is treating this as a source-led account. Any disputed responsibility, casualty figure, battlefield claim or single-source assertion should be treated as unconfirmed/hearsay unless confirmed by another reliable source or a named official. The claim originated after Zelenskyy's address to the UN General Assembly on 23 September, where he disclosed the recent transfer of two North Korean POWs to South Korea and highlighted the extreme indoctrination faced by one captured soldier. Prior to this, Oksana Torop, media adviser to Ukraine's Ambassador to the UK, suggested on social media that a secrecy agreement existed between Kyiv and Seoul, characterizing the public announcement as a deliberate display for impact. Lytvyn countered this assertion on the same platform, declaring the alleged nondisclosure pact as false and emphasizing transparency about prisoner destinations.

The POWs in question were captured by Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk Oblast in 2025. Additional details from earlier reports indicated one of the North Korean combatants possessed a forged military ID linked to a real person from Russia’s Republic of Tyva. Zelenskyy also used the UN platform to appeal to 47 countries, urging them to safeguard their nationals from forced conscription by Russia, underlining broader concerns about foreign fighters in the conflict.

Known from the source

• Dmytro Lytvyn denied the existence of any agreement with South Korea to keep the transfer of two North Korean POWs secret.
• South Korean President Lee Jae-myung claimed Ukraine breached a nondisclosure agreement by revealing the transfer publicly.
• President Zelenskyy announced the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea during his UN General Assembly speech on 23 September.
• The POWs were captured in Russia’s Kursk Oblast in 2025.
• One captured North Korean soldier had a forged military ID linked to a real individual from Russia’s Republic of Tyva.

What remains unclear

This disagreement over disclosure and alleged secret agreements may affect ongoing diplomatic exchanges and the confidential handling of prisoners captured during the conflict. It also raises questions about how Ukraine navigates international sensitivities involving third-party states such as South Korea and North Korea amid the war.

What remains unclear: Confirm whether the central claim is corroborated; until then treat it as unconfirmed/hearsay. Existence and terms of any nondisclosure agreement between Ukraine and South Korea related to POW transfers. Official South Korean government statements confirming the breach claim and details around the nondisclosure agreement. Verification of the original capture details of the North Korean POWs in Russia's Kursk Oblast.

Evidence note

This story contains report-led claims. The article keeps those claims attributed and treats them as unconfirmed/hearsay unless independently corroborated.

Original source: Ukrainska Pravda English. Open the source.