President Lee Jae Myung’s decision to appoint Song Young-gil as his special adviser for peace diplomacy has brought a longtime advocate of closer relations with Russia and North Korea back into South Korea’s foreign policy establishment, even as Seoul’s confrontation with Ukraine intensifies.

The six-term lawmaker has quickly made his views known. In an Oct. 2 radio interview, Song defended Lee’s criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over the disputed disclosure of a North Korean prisoners of war (POWs) transfer, called for an apology from Kyiv and raised the possibility of recalling South Korea’s ambassador.

The Foreign Ministry announced