South Korea's ambassador to Ukraine returned home on Saturday, Seoul's foreign ministry said, as a diplomatic row deepens over the transfer of North Korean prisoners of war to Seoul.
The announcement came days after South Korea said it recalled him following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's disclosure last month of the prisoner transfer, which Seoul said put their families in North Korea at risk.
"We inform you that Park Ki-chang, Ambassador to Ukraine, returned home this morning," Seoul's foreign ministry said in a statement sent to AFP.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has demanded an official apology over the prisoner revelation.
Seoul also previously summoned Kyiv's ambassador and threatened unspecified "further measures".
Ukraine has insisted that "diplomacy must prevail over emotions" in relations between the countries.
Earlier this week, Seoul's foreign minister Cho Hyun said Ukraine had sent a message that "included words of apology" over Zelensky's disclosure, but it fell short of "the level" Seoul had in mind.
AFP
