(ATTN: UPDATES with more info throughout; ADDS photo)
SEOUL, Sept. 30 (Yonhap) -- Ukraine was the first to ask the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war (POWs) to South Korea be kept a secret, Seoul's spy agency said Wednesday, adding the two countries had a shared understanding to keep the transfer confidential from the beginning of the transfer process.
In a briefing to the National Assembly's intelligence committee, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) also said the two North Korean soldiers arrived in South Korea in mid-September and had no major health problems, according to Rep. Youn Kun-young of the ruling Democratic Party and Rep. Yoo Yeong-ha of the main opposition People Power Party.
"From the early stages of the talks, Ukraine asked that strict confidentiality be maintained, citing concerns over the potential impact on future negotiations on the exchange of POWs," Rep. Yoo told reporters after the briefing.
North Korean soldiers, who were captured by Ukrainian forces, eat food sent by a group of North Korean defectors at a prisoner-of-war camp in Ukraine on Oct. 28, 2025, in this file photo provided by Gyeoreol Unification Solidarity. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
"The NIS worked with the foreign ministry on their repatriation, and both South Korea and Ukraine held related discussions from the beginning under the shared understanding that the issue would remain confidential," he added.
The NIS said the two sides had agreed via multiple channels to keep the transfer a secret, though it did not know whether there had been such an agreement between the leaders of the two countries, according to Yoo.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed during a United Nations address last week that Ukraine had sent the two North Korean soldiers captured last year to South Korea.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and his office have since said Ukraine breached a nondisclosure agreement aimed at keeping the transfer a secret to protect the soldiers from dangers they could face if their transfer were to be disclosed.
A Ukrainian presidential official was later reported to have denied the existence of a nondisclosure agreement.
The foreign ministry on Monday called in Andrii Vieshkin, acting ambassador of Ukraine to South Korea, and expressed strong concern over Ukraine's denial of the confidentiality agreement with South Korea.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (2nd from R), accompanied by his daughter Ju-ae, inspects the test of a new combat weapon system at an unspecified location on Sept. 20, 2026, in this file photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency on Sept. 22. North Korea did not specify what the weapon system was but stressed the test, conducted by the General Missile Bureau, was "of significant importance for advancing weapons system technology," the KCNA said. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
With regard to the North Korean leader's daughter Ju-ae, the NIS assessed that she is believed to be about 160 centimeters tall and to weigh more than 50 kilograms.
The agency said her status as a likely successor appears to be strengthening, with 30 public appearances so far this year, marking the highest annual figure.
The NIS also assessed there was a 50 percent chance of North Korea and the United States holding talks around the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit scheduled for November in China, saying Pyongyang will not want to miss the opportunity.
"(The NIS) analyzed that North Korea is keeping open the possibility of progress in North Korea-U.S. relations while repeatedly emphasizing its conditions for dialogue, such as recognition of its status as a nuclear weapons state and the withdrawal of hostile policy amid friendly messages from U.S. President Donald Trump," the lawmakers said.
On Kim Yo-jong's latest statement denying South Korea's assessment that a North Korean mine likely caused a recent blast inside the Demilitarized Zone, the agency said it viewed the statement as relatively "low-key," saying that Pyongyang was seeking to portray the incident as a fabrication by the South.
Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, issued the statement earlier in the day, accusing Seoul of fabricating the findings and warning of "immediate and merciless" retaliation if the South opens fire on its troops.
The statement came after three South Korean soldiers were injured in two explosions south of the Military Demarcation Line last Monday.
After a joint inspection of the site with the United Nations Command, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korean land mines were highly likely the cause of last week's explosion.
julesyi@yna.co.kr
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