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Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Park Doo-soon announces at a regular press briefing held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Government Complex Seoul in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 20th that the government decided on a partial withdrawal of embassy staff, taking into account difficulties in ensuring safety amid the persistent threat of airstrikes across Ukraine. / Yonhap

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on the 20th that it decided to withdraw some staff from the South Korean Embassy in Ukraine as a gesture of protest against Ukraine, with which it has been in conflict over whether a "closed-door agreement" was reached on the repatriation of North Korean prisoners of war.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Park Doo-soon announced this during a briefing held at the Foreign Ministry building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on that day.

Spokesperson Park said, "Under circumstances where the Ukrainian side has taken no proactive measures even after the recall of the ambassador to Ukraine, we decided on a partial withdrawal of embassy staff, taking into account factors such as difficulties in ensuring safety amid the persistent threat of airstrikes across Ukraine." He added, "Despite the withdrawal, we plan to maintain necessary diplomatic communication between the two countries led by the chargé d'affaires, and all consular affairs personnel will remain behind to continue making every effort to protect our overseas nationals."

In response to a question on whether the move also carried the meaning of a diplomatic protest, he explained, "Even though our government has already conveyed our position to the Ukrainian side in various ways, we assessed that there were no proactive measures, which led us to prepare such an action," adding, "Beyond this, the decision was made after taking all circumstances into account comprehensively, including the persistent threat of airstrikes."

He continued, "The measure itself is not the issue; basically, the objective is to seek an amicable solution through smooth consultations between the two countries," stating, "To this end, we hope to move to the stage of discussing the advancement of bilateral relations after the Ukrainian side takes proactive measures in good faith regarding the matters our side has requested so far."

Regarding how Korean nationals would be evacuated, he said, "The wishes of the remaining Korean residents themselves will be the most important," adding, "The Embassy in Ukraine will continuously maintain a contact network with our nationals on the ground, disseminate safety notices frequently, conduct daily safety checks, and provide necessary support should they wish to evacuate, continuing to implement safety measures without any shortfall."

                                                                                                             Lee Han-sol