South Korea says Zelenskyy's revelation of a secret POW transfer was likely a play for more support

SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea’s spy agency said Wednesday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's recent revelation of a supposedly secret transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to the South was likely meant to generate public support in this Asian democracy for greater assistance to Ukraine.Zelenskyy’s disclosure during his U.N. speech last week of the transfer of the captured soldiers has stunned South Korea and drawn strong protests. Seoul called on Kyiv to apologize and explain the violation of what it said was a nondisclosure agreement about the transfer. Ukraine denied agreeing to any such deal. The fracas surrounding the revelation has shaken the traditionally good relations between Kyiv and Seoul but it's unclear if it could lead to something more dramatic.The soldiers were among thousands sent by North Korea to help Russia repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region as part of expanding cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow. North Korea has supplied conventional weapons to Russia as well.South Korea’s National Intelligence Service held a closed-door meeting with a parliament committee on Wednesday about the matter. According to lawmak...