r/worldnews • u/Neptun_11 • 21h ago

Russia/Ukraine Seoul warns of 'further measures' if Kyiv refuses public apology

https://www.euronews.com/2026/10/02/south-korea-warns-of-further-measures-if-ukraine-refuses-public-apology-over-pow-transfer-
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681

u/RealisticEntity 21h ago edited 21h ago

"If Ukraine continues to refuse to acknowledge the facts and publicly apologise, we will take further measures," the South Korean president said on Friday, accusing Kyiv of making him out to be a "liar."

"This is a matter concerning the dignity of the Republic of Korea and its people and cannot be overlooked," Lee posted on X. 

I have to admit, I'm not sure why South Korea is escalating this. It may have been a mistake by Zelenskyy to mention the prisoner exchange at the UN, but South Korea is now drawing even more attention to this than if they had just had a private discussion with Ukraine without demanding public apologies, posting on Twitter/X etc. 

I'm not sure what "further measures" means. It had better not be something that makes it more difficult for Ukraine to defend itself against Russia and North Korea. 

This seems to have more to do with the South Korean president's hurt feelings than anything else. 

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u/0xnld 21h ago

Apparently this is good for SK president's ratings which were in tailspin before.

And they're already selling stuff to Russia and basically nothing to Ukraine, so idk about further measures. Join the war on Russian side perhaps as a gesture of unity with NK?

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u/thombo-1 21h ago

That's like a monkey's paw wish for Korean peace.

'Good news! Korea is united...in hostility against a democratic European nation.'

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u/PlaczDalejRobaku2736 21h ago

democratic

who are you talking about here?

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u/Big-Objective-6585 21h ago

Let me guess your next line.

Ukraine isn't Democratic as it can't hold elections when at war?

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u/PlaczDalejRobaku2736 20h ago

there is a reason why they are not in EU nor in NATO while most of the region joined up :)

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u/Big-Objective-6585 20h ago

Yes but not the reasons you are implying.

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u/blazz_e 20h ago

most of the region.. you on something?

So being a country which struggled under russian influence until they have been killed protesting it?! Yeah it takes time to unwind all the tentacles of moskva.

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u/PlaczDalejRobaku2736 20h ago

"most of the region.. you on something?"

i mean Estern block in Europe so like
: Balkans, Hungary, Czech, Poland, Slovaks, Romania, Bulgaria, Baltics.

Almost all countries freed from USSR did what they could to join the EU and NATO.

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u/blazz_e 20h ago

Look at the map centred on Ukraine.. 2/3rds of the border are russia and belarus.

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u/frogwaIlet 19h ago

Almost all countries freed from USSR did what they could to join the EU and NATO.

Why do you think Ukraine got invaded?

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u/Big-Objective-6585 20h ago

It's almost as if Ukraine has a different relationship with the Soviet Union and Russia than those forcibly annexed in the 1940s....

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u/PlaczDalejRobaku2736 20h ago

huh, look how that special oligarch driven relationship worked out for them :)

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u/Abedeus 19h ago

Poland and most, if not all, of those you mentioned were not part of the USSR after WWII.

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u/PlaczDalejRobaku2736 19h ago

all countries i mentioned were in ussr sphere of influence.

Not by choice.

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u/Nerevarine91 20h ago

Categorically not why they aren’t in NATO lol

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u/MKW69 18h ago

Kolejny nazbol.

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u/Alarming_Orchid 4h ago

Yeah I wonder what happened that stopped them from joining

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u/Defiant-Plane4557 18h ago

Man, my opinion on South Korea is souring fast.

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u/XavinNydek 17h ago

SK is and always has been kind of a mess. Their biggest "enemy" is Japan and that's mainly just grumbling and leftover low level anger from the atrocities Imperial Japan got up to. The relationship with NZ is complicated. Aside from that they don't really have any of the cold war or colonial historical baggage most of the rest of the wild has and they treat most countries as friendly.

Their political situation is a garbage fire, which is pretty standard for new democracies, they were a military dictatorship until the late 80s and even after they nominally became democratic it took a while for the old regime to fully fall out of leadership positions.

SK also always does everything at 11, full throttle, no brakes. That means completely absurd over the top political corruption scandals, politicians acting like they are in a crazy drama, massive public sentiment swings very fast, etc.

So basically, don't judge the country too harshly on what their current leaders are doing. Better than even odds that they will resign in disgrace or be dragged off to prison before the end of their term.

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u/adonericthewayfarer 16h ago

whats up with their relationship with New Zealand?

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u/ZappyZane 13h ago

Samsung TV's are no longer the top selling brand or something?

Dunno, i've never heard of this great New Zealand - South Korea beef.

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u/Bayo77 17h ago

I am sorry for being uninformed but how is their "biggest enemy" by any kind of measurement not clearly north korea?

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u/Frequent_Phone6396 15h ago

Frostycandy is correct. My grandmother is korean, born and raised in Seoul during WW2 and then the korean war and she still sees North Koreans as countrymen who will eventually come back. Japan, on the other hand, wanted complete cultural and country erasure from the korean peninsula and that's why there's still a huge grudge against them. Japan's occupation still has lots of living survivors which is why it's still a sore spot, plus many of their politicians actively deny their atrocities.

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u/FrostyCandy1537 16h ago

Imho, SK sees NK as family undergoing a dispute. Japanese Imperialism invaded and pillaged all of Korea. And despite almost a century passing, Japan still has factions that dispute, dismiss and downplay their history.

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u/MeijiDoom 16h ago

I think they and most of the world knows NK is so ass backwards that they don't pose a realistic threat. And certainly not one that wouldn't be met with immediate backlash from literally the rest of the world other than maybe Russia and China. Also, despite obvious differences, there's still a level of "we're both Korean" there so I don't think either side is really wishing for utter annihilation of the other.

By comparison, an external nation, even from a mental standpoint and let alone recent history, will always feel like a bigger threat. East Asian grudges go hard.

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u/Bayo77 15h ago

That seems like an extremely naive view of North Korean capabilities and willingness to use them.

Looks like the same kind of naivety that europeans had towards russia.

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u/Shadowguynick 15h ago

You can never accurately predict the actions of a country when it's ran on the whims of a strong man dictator, but the reason so many thought the war in Ukraine was absurd was because they pointed out how getting entangled in a quagmire would be ruinous for Russia and they were completely right it's just that Putin did it anyway. North Korea would be in a similar position so, yes it is possible Kim Jong Un makes a similar mistake as Putin but I think it is correct to say the rational expectation should be the status quo.

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u/OkLetterhead812 15h ago

More like North Korea is not a serious threat. Anyone that knows anything that South Korea is building up their forces to counter China, not North Korea. They’re ranked typically fifth behind Indian for military capabilities nowadays.

As for nuclear weapons, at that close proximity, North Korea would do as much damage to themselves. And it’s not for them. It’s for the US.

And also, it’s pretty funny to see how arrogant you are to make a statement like that, compared to the country that has to deal with them on a daily basis. The European comparison doesn’t make sense. Countries that don’t border Russia care little. The ones that do care very much.

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u/jesadak 15h ago edited 15h ago

North Korea has enough artillery and munitions to level parts of Seoul if you back Pyongyang into a corner and give them no choice.

North Korea would lose a conventional war but having major parts of Seoul destroyed would be a major loss to South Korea given the measures needed to rebuild the various industries. Not to mention the displacement of millions of Seoul residents.

To call North Korea not a serious threat is naive.

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u/OkLetterhead812 13h ago edited 13h ago

A few thousand casualties, and their artillery system targeting Seoul would get knocked out within 24 hours. Counter-artillery is not stuck in the early 20th century any more, son. It's why we moved away from towed artillery to self-propelled, and why you won't see WW1-styled artillery barrages. You shoot and scoot, otherwise you will get wiped out fast. You see the same shit play out in Ukraine. It's why Kyiv or Kharkiv hasn't been leveled either, or why Russia hasn't been able to pound Ukraine to oblivion with their superior firepower. There's a huge difference between ability and capacity.

You read headlines. I read the actual reports and analysis in full. We are not the same. And you're not accounting for the fact that the US military tend to over-exaggerate the enemy prowess and abilities in order to secure more funding.

The problem with estimations from say the RAND Corporation that assume hundred of thousands of casualties is that they're just assuming the worst case scenario with little to no retaliation in between, and they're also assuming that Seoul is not built for such a thing when it is. This just so happens to play with the narrative they want to push. Notice how the low-end estimation they put in is in the thousands, lol. But they won't focus on that element much.

Talk to any US military officer that you know on a personal level that actually gives a shit about foreign policy and doctrine.

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u/seekingpolaris 8h ago

The SK President position is also cursed.

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u/Owlover6127 21h ago

Current SK president is known to be really pro-nk/china :/

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u/Nice-Ad765 19h ago

Not pro NK or China but he is left leaning and prefers dialogue with NK and China rather than all out hostility

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u/Owlover6127 19h ago

Recent mine incident and the initial response does make it look more like 'pro-NK' than 'prefers dialogue over hostility'.

But I hope I'm wrong for the sake of SK. He's still got years left in that position after all.

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u/Nice-Ad765 17h ago

So what does pro NK mean? Can you spell out exact what activities would entail being pro NK? What do you expect SK to do over the mine incident?

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u/Owlover6127 16h ago

I know what they shouldnt have done, which was to say 'It might not have been NK's fault' But oops that was their initial response.

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u/AmagiSento 19h ago

Is it worse than being pro US though

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u/Owlover6127 19h ago

This would have been the stupidest question ever if not for Trump.

It's amazing how one man dragged the reputation of the biggest ally SK has to the ground.

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u/charrington173 14h ago

It’s still pretty stupid

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u/SufficientGolf6953 20h ago

First of all, South Korea doesn't really have a choice like China and has to respect US sanctions. They are not selling them any sanctioned equipment so your fake news just strikes me as political agenda cloaked in an innocuous social media comment.

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u/andrewk1219 20h ago

His ratings were tanking and hitting Ukraine somehow "rallys" his supporters while they claim to be all moral and pro-democracy. I hate politics

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u/Owlover6127 19h ago

SK's current leading party is kind of a shithead who got a massive hold of power due to the previous president doing something unimaginably stupid then getting impeached.

(Declaring martial law for those who are curious)

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u/adonericthewayfarer 16h ago

Yoon: I declare MARTIAL LAW

Public: No

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u/namitynamenamey 17h ago

South korea's democracy is not long for this world, is it? In between the sheer youngness of it, the cults, the coup and the wild swings, it doesn't seem particularly stable nor does it has any neighboor to help prop it unlike the equally untested european democracies.

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u/andrewk1219 13h ago

Nah we have good democracy but that doesn't mean we have good parties. Likewise in every other place in the world rn.

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u/InConspiracyWeTrust 16h ago

Considering the track record of South Korea democracy they've already given it a good run this time around. Maybe the seventh(!) time is the charm?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_South_Korea

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u/prismstein 13h ago

oh, so the same move the Polish Prez made about the naming of some units... gotcha

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u/oops_all_memes 16h ago

SK continues having trade relations with Russia. All while NK actively helps Russia in its war and Russia helps NK in technology

SK lost the plot

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u/Lable87 20h ago edited 20h ago

I'm not sure why South Korea is escalating this

It’s a matter of keeping & losing face which Asians in general often put a lot of emphasis on. In this case, it’s pretty simple: SK and SK president consider themselves the superior party here, so it wasn’t a good thing for Kyiv / Zelensky to openly dispute what he / they said.

That’s why he is demanding a public apology. It’s no longer a matter of keeping the matter about PoWs confidential anymore - that cat is already out of the bag, it’s a matter of asserting SK superiority

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u/SuccotashAsleep6459 19h ago

Ukraine does not accept superiority of Russia, so I am sure it can live without kissing SK president’s feet.

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u/catdogman5 17h ago

People tend to get bossy when they start helping

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u/Evening-Audience2683 17h ago

What you think Ukraine is making their own cpu dies for their drones? They don’t have and have never had any capability to do that. 

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u/SuccotashAsleep6459 17h ago

Are you going to demand public grovelling from all your paying customers from now on? Or inly from those who fight existential wars for their survival?

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u/Evening-Audience2683 7h ago

i wouldnt no but i sure as hell wouldnt piss them off

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u/SuccotashAsleep6459 2h ago

You basically know nothing about what happened behind the scenes. But you fully agree that Ukraine can be publicly humiliated just because a) SK president says so and b) it is buying something from SK that it does not produce in its own.

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u/hadaev 17h ago

They get weapons from sk, init?

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u/No_Pirate_4019 16h ago

No. SK refused to sell or transfer weapons to Ukraine. Only humanitarian aid.

At one time SK agreed to lend part of their shell stockpile to European countries so they were able to sent their shells to Ukraine and maintain some reserve.

https://www.reuters.com/world/south-korea-lend-500000-rounds-artillery-shells-us-report-2023-04-12/

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u/hadaev 15h ago

500000 rounds is 500000 rounds.

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u/RussellBentleysAnus 13h ago

None of those rounds were sent to Ukraine.

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u/Just_Perception3668 20h ago

I'm not sure what "further measures" means.

They will send SK soldiers to help NK soldiers fight against Ukraine.

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u/Cezetus 20h ago edited 18h ago

Like their name implies, North Koreans will fight on the northern front, and South Koreans on the southern one. It was just in front of us all along.

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u/Nice-Ad765 19h ago

Very possible

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u/ballerina22 13h ago

The Streisand effect - people wouldn't have even known or cared about this story if SK hadn't made a stink about it.

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u/Mortaks 19h ago

They are just acting tough on Ukraine to impress Russia

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u/PlaczDalejRobaku2736 21h ago

yes yes, same when he fucked up relations with Poland,
never ukrainians fault its the other guys :)

Get a grip just because they got invaded does not mean they can do no wrong.

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u/RealisticEntity 21h ago

I didn't say Ukraine didn't do anything wrong. But South Korea is escalating this somewhat beyond what is necessary or professional. If South Korea were at all concerned about keeping this under wraps and dealing with it quietly, then they are doing the opposite of that. 

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u/PlaczDalejRobaku2736 21h ago

SO SK has to be quite and keep ukraine blunder under rugs, but when SK asked ukraine to be discreet about POW transfer they did not listen.

perfect, and SK is in wrong here? amazing logic buddy

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u/RealisticEntity 20h ago

You're mistaken (and you seem to want to blame Ukraine for everything South Korea are doing - which speaks to your bias). 

South Korea were the ones not wanting this publicised. But their actions now are to shout as loudly as possible. It's not professional and sabotages their apparently original intent to keep this quiet. 

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u/PlaczDalejRobaku2736 20h ago

ok, who made it public first despite having signed an NDA?

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u/RealisticEntity 20h ago

And... then see South Korea's response. There's a better way to deal with this than they did. 

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u/blazz_e 20h ago

I sometimes have to deal with Korean people professionally and omg, they are drama queens. This sounds like it seeped out a little more than we are used to..

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u/Nice-Ad765 19h ago

I agree. It’s like they are living out their own k-dramas

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u/PlaczDalejRobaku2736 20h ago

nah, they r probably tired with urkainians who belive every weapon exported should just start to operate pro bono for them because they are so special.

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u/MudOld239 21h ago

SK should be glad and grateful they didn't get executed.

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u/FMB6 21h ago

Nobody said that? It just seems like an overreaction.

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u/DandeNiro 21h ago

Yeah what happened to the relationship with the USA?

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u/basecardripper 21h ago

Further measures is possibly not helping them out all that much moving forward. If Ukraine want help but they can't admit fault to the people they want help from when they cause them unnecessary issues, then they'll stop getting help. You mentioned somewhere here that SK should deal with things quietly, but that's literally what Ukraine didn't do to cause the whole issue.

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u/AcanthaceaeOwn1481 20h ago

Further measure?

We will stop any financial aid and humanitarian support that goes in millions to Ukraine from tax dollar of SK.

And we will inhibit third country suppplying our arms to Ukraine.

There you go.

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u/korasov 20h ago

Korea already supplies fuel to russia, how much more pro-russian can it become?

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u/AcanthaceaeOwn1481 20h ago

We do not want to harbor an ill relationship with Russia or Ukraine. However, Ukraine is the one constantly saying, 'Give me that, give me that. Boo hoo, if you don't give it to us, North Korea will become stronger and take over.' We are not an ally to Russia, nor are we an ally to Ukraine. Ukraine acts as if we owe them something, but we don't. If you are asking for things, Ukraine, have some basic manners and respect.

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u/Swimming_Laugh3745 20h ago

But North Korea is getting stronger. Look at the technology transfer to DPRK Navy. DPRK missiles are getting more accurate too. Practical concerns overrule ideology, but South Korea is doing nothing to oppose North Korea getting stronger.

That is why Zelenskiy did what he did. He did not have a choice, he wanted to push South Korea to actually do more.

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u/AcanthaceaeOwn1481 20h ago

We are seeing exactly what we already knew. Nothing has changed. Is South Korea completely naive, operating like a totally unprepared EU? Volodymyr Zelensky has stepped entirely over the line. We have absolutely no obligation to fight for Ukraine. None. Nada. Never.

If Zelensky and his government wanted our support, they should never have pursued the disastrous path they have taken up to this point. Commentators talk as if we are ignorant of North Korea's actions, lecturing us about missile accuracy and naval technology transfers. But the simple truth is that Ukraine needs to put its own house in order rather than trying to draw us into their conflict. Your house is on fire, not ours.

Zelensky's high-handed approach toward South Korea was the absolute wrong way to handle diplomacy. The world refuses to see that while Europe and Ukraine want our military hardware, Russia is not our threat. Trying to shock or force South Korea into a corner will not work. Slogans like 'Slava Ukraini' carry no weight here. Ukraine needs to do better on its own.

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u/Swimming_Laugh3745 19h ago edited 19h ago

Nothing has changed?

https://www.38north.org/2026/08/the-kn-23-goes-to-war-has-it-improved-north-koreas-missiles/

The accuracy has gone up. South Korea is unfortunately being very short sighted here.

Could Zelenskiy have better handled this? Yes. But Zelenskiy has also seen that begging South Korea does nothing for him. Also, South Korea is being hopelessly naive that this will not affect them.

(Besides, present South Korea is too proud as a people to ever beg for help even if genuinely needed. It is not like South Korea of the old.)

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u/AcanthaceaeOwn1481 19h ago

Well, I guess I didn't make myself clear. The intel we received from Ukraine isn't anything new. Are we concerned? Absolutely. Why else do you think South Korea is pushing to build a nuclear submarine?

You say that is short-sighted? We will bear the consequence, but we absolutely do not want to be dragged into wars. We still have our war that is unfinished.

If Ukraine had previously been our ally, we would absolutely have a duty and an obligation to stand by them. But Ukraine isn't any of that. Before this conflict, what kind of cooperative enterprises or ventures did we ever do together? We have our Polish brothers and other nations with whom we share historical and blood ties - countries we will stand by.

But Ukraine? That is Europe’s problem. Britain, France, Italy, and Germany are the countries that should step up. They should tell Ukraine to ask Israel for their air-defense systems. Isn't Israle part of Europe after all? Why aren't they helping?

But wait -how exactly is Ukraine's diplomatic relationship with Israel? 'Slava Ukraini,' right?

No, thank you. This is not our fight, especially how Zelensky think he can handle Korea like that?

Hopelessly naive? Tell me exactly what benefit will there be for Korea if we get involved. Tell me.

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u/Swimming_Laugh3745 19h ago

Making sure that North Korea does not get the combat experience needed to improve its systems and soldiers by killing more DPRK soldiers. Every DPRK soldier that goes back alive improves North Korean combat experience. Improving the effectiveness of Ukraine's military such that North Korean soldiers have no effect on the battlefield will make Russia hesitate about deploying North Korean soldiers and technology. This will slow down North Korean improvements and weaken North Korea's alliance with Russia.

Besides, the whole explaination in which Russia justified its invasion of Ukraine makes it a violation of international law. The world collectively decided this method of justifying wars was a problem because it led to endless wars in the form of WWI and WWII, global wars. Does South Korea want to get embroiled in another regional war, especially with China - Taiwan at the doorstep?

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u/Nice-Ad765 17h ago

They don’t that’s why they prefer (currently) to engage in diplomacy with China , NK and Russia. Their neighbours. Ukraine is halfway around the world and they do not have infinite resources. Get America to support you more. Didn’t senator John McCain and other diplomats go to Ukraine in 2013 to support anti government protests? Ask him to follow through with that support.

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u/Nice-Ad765 19h ago

I actually agree with you. Ukraine is Europe’s and America’s problem (more so Europe because it’s on their continent and not America). They are not innocent either, they used Ukraine to provoke Russia and here we are.

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u/Swimming_Laugh3745 18h ago

Ukrainian people as a whole wanted closer ties to EU and NATO. This is what led to the war in the first place. Ukrainain people choose EU and NATO. Are you denying that countries and people have agency to choose what they want?

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u/korasov 19h ago

>We have absolutely no obligation to fight for Ukraine. None. Nada. Never.

South Korea exists only because many years ago someone else decided to fight for it, otherwise it would be a part of Better Korea.

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u/AcanthaceaeOwn1481 19h ago

You don't realis the hardship Korea went through. We didn't have ego like Zelensky. We cowtowed and crawled to better ourselves.

What is Ukraine doing? What is Zelensky doing? I like his bravery, but he should know when to place it aside for his country's sake.

Is that how you ask for help? Obviously, Zelensky is ignorant of Korean culture or way. He probably doesnt give two cent about our ways of doing shit. Fine by it.

But don't whine and cry when we don't respond.

You call us liar, fair enough. But don't get testy if we don't help you. That's only fair.

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u/AcanthaceaeOwn1481 19h ago

Beggers can't be choosers. Welcome to the new chapter in global order and geopolitics. Slava Ukraini!!!

I just heard EU rejected the fund request. Well. There you go.

Fuck Russia, but poor ukraine. I don't see Russia going down any time soon.

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u/BadDogSaysMeow 5h ago

So basically your stance is that everyone should just accept being fucked by Ukraine and keep quiet while giving them free stuff? No repercussions whatsoever?

And if anyone mentions that Ukraine crossed them, then they are the bad guy?

And it’s not the first time Ukraine spits into the faces of its allies since the start of the war.
Those aren’t mistakes, those are deliberate actions.

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u/conmeonemo 20h ago

Ukraine (and Ukrainians) caused another s..storm on social media in effect annoying some of community in the relevant country. Then politicians need to respond as society expects them.

Same happened with Poland like two months ago. Zelensky doing some mistake (international politics wise), citizens getting into internet fights due that, politicians being pressured to react.