South Korea Protests Ukraine’s Disclosure of North Korean POWs

The key number is 2.5%. That could help people who cannot save a large amount of money.

Under the older Help to Buy scheme, buyers needed a deposit of 5%. The new plan could reduce that to 2.5% of the property price.

Why has the government found this decision difficult?

One reason is inflation. If more people can afford to buy homes, demand may rise. That could push prices higher while energy costs are already putting pressure on household budgets.

There is also a political problem. The plan looks similar to a policy from a previous Conservative government. Critics may say Labour is borrowing an idea from its political opponents.

There is a business concern too. An earlier version helped housebuilders and some of their executives make large gains.

That is right. The former boss of housebuilder Persimmon received a £75 million bonus in 2018. The article says the scheme increased the value of his share-based rewards.

So the government wants to help buyers and builders without creating another case like that.

Exactly. Britain has a target of 1.5 million new homes in England during this parliament. The country could miss that target by several hundred thousand homes.

Why are private building companies important to this plan?

They are needed to build the homes. But they complain about labour costs, materials, taxes, and regulation. Some companies are choosing to buy back shares instead of starting new projects.

So this is also an attempt to restart a weak building industry.

Yes. An independent report published earlier this month said the older scheme gave “very high value for money.”

It estimated a net social value of £25.1 billion from 2013 to 2023. This was partly because the scheme increased the supply of homes.

The report also found an effect on inflation. What does that mean for the new plan?

It estimated that the scheme added about two percentage points to inflation. The new plan is also starting while mortgage rates are moving higher.

It may help some people, but it will not solve Britain’s housing problem by itself. Easier access to homes could also add to demand and prices.

Thanks, Ethan. The central question is whether support for buyers will also push prices higher.

A diplomatic dispute has grown between Seoul and Kyiv after two North Korean soldiers were transferred to South Korea.

Mia is LinguaWire’s correspondent for society.

Hello, Daniel. South Korea has summoned Ukraine’s acting ambassador after President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the transfer last week.

To summon an ambassador means to officially call that person to a government meeting, often to complain.

That is what happened here. South Korea’s vice foreign minister lodged a formal complaint.

He also expressed “strong regret.” Seoul says the transfer was supposed to remain secret.

Both sides accept that the soldiers arrived in South Korea. What is the real disagreement?

It is about how and when the information became public. Ukraine said its forces captured the two soldiers in Russia’s Kursk region in early 2025.

After more than a year of talks between Seoul and Kyiv, the soldiers were transferred to South Korea. They had earlier told local media that they wanted to go there.

When did the public announcement happen?

Zelensky announced the transfer during the United Nations General Assembly. He said the soldiers had not been “easy to capture alive.”

South Korea confirmed the transfer. However, it said the announcement damaged trust between the two countries.

Why did Seoul want the arrangement kept private?

President Lee Jae Myung’s office gave two reasons. Secrecy was meant to protect the families of the two North Koreans.

Ukraine also wanted to avoid criticism. People might say it had given up a possible chance to exchange the soldiers for Ukrainian prisoners of war.

So the issue involves safety, military negotiations, and relations between governments.

Yes. Seoul said Ukraine had seriously damaged trust. It demanded an apology for what it called “announcing a falsehood.”

How did Zelensky’s office answer?

His office said there had been no non-disclosure agreement between the countries. That is a direct disagreement about what had been agreed.

What wider political issue is connected to the dispute?

President Lee called the transfer a “highly sensitive issue” connected to national security. He faced criticism at home after the disclosure.

The opposition accused him of hiding the transfer to support a more conciliatory approach toward North Korea. His office says secrecy was linked to safety and diplomacy.

How does South Korea’s position on the war affect this situation?

Seoul has supported Ukraine politically since Russia’s full-scale invasion. But it has kept its policy of not sending lethal weapons to countries involved in an active war.

Mia, thank you. The argument may concern one announcement, but the consequences are about trust.

Let’s take a quick look at three useful words and one grammar pattern from today’s stories.

The first word is deposit.

A deposit is money paid first when you buy something expensive, especially a home. In the story, the new plan could reduce the deposit to 2.5% of the property price.

She saved for years to pay the deposit on her apartment.

The second word is subsidy.

A subsidy is money from the government that helps reduce a cost. In the report, government support for home buyers was discussed as a subsidy.

The farmers receive a subsidy to help them manage rising costs.

The third word is transfer.

A transfer is the act of moving a person or thing from one place to another. In the story, the two soldiers were transferred to South Korea.

The transfer of the patient to another hospital took several hours.

The two soldiers were transferred to South Korea.

We use the passive when the action is more important than the person or group that did it. The form is was or were plus a past participle.

“The two soldiers were transferred to South Korea.”

The documents were sent to the embassy yesterday.

Repeat after me: The two soldiers were transferred to South Korea.