The government said Thursday it will recall its ambassador to Ukraine — one of the options it had been considering amid a dispute between President Lee Jae Myung and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the disclosure of the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war (POWs) to South Korea. “The government hopes that all outstanding issues between the two countries will be resolved amicably and will continue consultations with Ukraine to that end,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement announcing its decision to recall Ambassador Park Ki-chang. The decision came after more than two weeks of diplomatic friction, triggered by Zelenskyy’s public disclosure of the transfer during a U.N. General Assembly speech in New York on Sept. 23. The North Korean soldiers were captured while fighting for Russia in Ukraine in 2025. Lee expressed disappointment on X (formerly Twitter) the following day, saying Ukraine had breached an agreement to keep the transfer confidential. Kyiv denied that such an agreement existed, prompting Cheong Wa Dae to demand an explanation and