SEOUL SEEKS APOLOGY FROM KYIV

SEOUL, SEPTEMBER 28 /SRNA/ - South Korea is demanding an apology from Ukraine for breaching a confidentiality agreement after Kyiv publicly announced that two North Korean prisoners had been transferred to Seoul.

The dispute erupted last week after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv had sent two North Korean soldiers to South Korea.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung later said he did not know why the Ukrainian side had breached the agreement and made the matter public, but expressed disappointment over the move.

Zelensky aide Dmytro Lytvyn said the Ukrainian president had merely made public the fact that the soldiers had been handed over to Seoul, adding that Ukraine was an "open country" and that it would be unusual for the transfer to take place in secret.

Senior South Korean official Seong Gi-hong said today that Seoul was considering additional measures that might be necessary to resolve the dispute.

He added that his country was demanding an explanation and an apology, saying the matter was serious because Ukraine had breached an agreement based on trust and unilaterally disclosed confidential information.

"Kyiv's statements that there was no confidentiality agreement damage the friendly relations between the two countries", Seong said.