Ukraine and South Korea to hold talks after diplomatic scandal: Sybiga to meet with Foreign Minister in Paris

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga plans to hold a personal meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyeon on the sidelines of the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Paris. The talks should be aimed at resolving the diplomatic conflict between Kyiv and Seoul, which arose due to the disclosure of information about the transfer of North Korean prisoners of war.

What is known about the upcoming meeting

According to the source, Andriy Sybiga and Cho Hyeon will hold talks during an international meeting in Paris.

The main goal of the talks will be the normalization of bilateral relations and the resumption of a full-fledged diplomatic dialogue between Ukraine and South Korea.

The meeting will take place against the backdrop of tensions that arose between the countries in September 2026 and led to the withdrawal of some South Korean diplomats from Ukraine.

What caused the diplomatic conflict

On September 23, during the UN General Assembly, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly announced the transfer of two prisoners of war from the DPRK to South Korea.

The next day, South Korean President Lee Jae-myeon accused the Ukrainian side of violating agreements on the non-disclosure of this information.

Seoul emphasized that the issue of the repatriation of North Korean military personnel is extremely sensitive and requires special diplomatic caution.

At the same time, a source in the Office of the President of Ukraine denied the existence of an agreement on confidentiality.

According to Korea JoongAng Daily, the Ukrainian side had warned Seoul in advance through diplomatic channels about the president’s intention to mention the prisoners of war in his speech.

South Korea recalled eight diplomats

On October 27, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyeon announced the recall of eight diplomatic staff from Ukraine.

According to him, this decision was made due to dissatisfaction with Kyiv’s actions to resolve the conflict.

At the same time, the personnel necessary for the functioning of the embassy remained in Ukraine, and diplomatic relations between the states were not severed.

Ukraine’s position

On October 30, the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Heorhiy Tykhyi, stated that Kyiv maintains constant contact with Seoul, in particular at the level of heads of foreign policy departments.

The Ukrainian side confirmed its readiness to normalize relations and called for refraining from public statements and actions that could increase diplomatic tension.

It is expected that the talks between Andriy Sybiga and Cho Hyun will be another step towards resolving the differences between the countries. At the same time, no specific agreements or results of the meeting have been reported so far.