Ukrainian minister says ties with South Korea on the road to improvement after miscues

Ukrainian minister says ties with South Korea on the road to improvement after miscues

Nov 10 - Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha was quoted as saying on Tuesday that relations between his country and South Korea were on the road to recovery after a dispute over North Korean prisoners of war.

Sybiha said he had "a good meeting" with his South Korean counterpart Cho Hyun on the sidelines of a ministerial meeting of G7 countries and was pleased that relations were being put right.

In comments to national television, reported by Ukrainian media, he said he believed that "we now have in front of us the next series of actions for the final normalisation of bilateral relations."

"We deserve an extremely dynamic and high-level bilateral relationship with South Korea," Sybiha told the television. "We had a really good conversation, during which we spoke frankly about those recent unpleasant events and facts that occurred."

South Korea recalled its ambassador last month after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the UN General Assembly that Ukraine had transferred two captured North Korean soldiers to the South.

The disclosure breached an understanding to keep the transfer confidential so as to protect the soldiers and their families in the North, Seoul said.

Sybiha said after the dispute occurred that it had been rooted in differing interpretations of confidentiality arrangements, saying Ukraine had fulfilled all its obligations.

In brief

Nov 10 - Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha was quoted as saying on Tuesday that relations between his country and South Korea were on the road to recovery after a dispute over North Korean prisoners of war. "We deserve an extremely dynamic and high-level bilateral relationship with South Korea," Sybiha told the television. South Korea recalled its ambassador last month after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the UN General Assembly that Ukraine had transferred two captured North Korean soldiers to the South.

This is the opening of the story, shared with credit to The Straits Times — Asia. The rest of the report — with every detail — continues on the publisher’s website.

Continue reading at The Straits Times — Asia ↗

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