South Korea recalls Ukraine envoy over prisoner-of-war row

Zelensky had revealed the transfer at a speech at the UN General Assembly in September, adding that the two North Koreans had not been "easy to capture alive".It prompted a swift condemnation from South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who called it "greatly disappointing" and said the transfer was a "highly sensitive issue" impacting national security.President Lee also faced heavy criticism at home in light of the revelation, with local opposition accusing him of wanting to cover up the transfer to appease Pyongyang. But his office said that it had been kept confidential partly to protect the North Koreans' families and added that Kyiv also wanted the transfer kept secret to avoid criticism that it had given up an opportunity to exchange the soldiers for Ukrainian prisoners of war.Lee's office explained Ukraine had indicated the soldiers would be mentioned in Zelensky's address, but not the fact of their transfer.The spat escalated when Zelensky's office responded claiming that the two countries did not have a non-disclosure agreement.Seoul later demanded Ukraine apologise for "announcing a falsehood" and said its actions had seriously damaged trust between the two nations.Seoul h...