South Korea's presidential office has expressed "strong regret" over Ukraine's disregard for a nondisclosure agreement with Seoul regarding the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war (POWs). The South Korean presidential office criticized Ukraine for unilaterally disclosing the transfer and subsequently denying the existence of a nondisclosure agreement, stating that this "seriously hampers" bilateral trust and causes significant disruptions to their friendship. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had announced the transfer of the two North Korean POWs to South Korea during his address to the United Nations General Assembly last week. South Korea's senior presidential secretary for public relations, Seong Ghi-hong, stated on Sunday that the nondisclosure agreement was intended to protect the soldiers from potential dangers if their transfer were revealed, in accordance with international law and humanitarian principles. Ukrainian forces captured the two North Korean soldiers in Russia’s Kursk region in January 2025.