South Koreans are opposed to direct arms deliveries to Ukraine despite renewed international requests from Kyiv, according to Reuters.
Ukraine requested a number of weapons from South Korea, but Seoul said it would consider such assistance depending on future moves by Russia and North Korea.
A Ukrainian delegation led by defence minister Rustem Umerov met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday. The two parties agreed to continue exchanging information about North Korea’s troop dispatches to Russia, as well as the exchange of technology and weapons between them, according to Yoon’s office. The delegation also met with Seoul’s national security adviser Shin Won-sik and defence minister Kim Yong-hyun.
Ukraine planned to send Seoul a detailed request for arms support, including artillery and air defence systems, as previously reported by President Volodymyr Zelensky. However, Donald Trump‘s victory in this month’s US presidential election sparked uncertainty over the talks.
Yoon’s low approval ratings, as well as weak public support for arms transfers, constituted a burden that undermines his foreign policy mandate, Yang Uk, an analyst at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said.
Unlike neighbouring Japan, which also avoids arming Kyiv directly, South Korea is one of the world’s largest arms exporters and has struck large and lucrative defence deals with Ukraine’s neighbours.
The main opposition Democratic Party criticises the government for not ruling out providing arms aid and urges it to seek parliamentary approval for such decisions. However, Russia has warned South Korea that if it supplies weapons to Ukraine, ties between Seoul and Moscow will be “completely severed.”
On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the launch of mass production of the Oreshnik system. Last week, Russia struck Ukraine’s Pivdenmash military plant in Dnipro in retaliation for Kyiv’s launches of ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles into Russian territories.
