Ukrainian delegation in Seoul: no weapons for Kyiv (for now)

Ukraine’s Defence Minister met with President Yoon Suk-yeol to share information on military cooperation between Russia and North Korea. Donald Trump’s return to the White House remains the unknown factor in the war. So far, South Korea has only sent non-lethal military equipment to Kyiv, but it remains among the world's largest arms exporters.

Seoul (AsiaNews) – Despite the presence of North Korean troops in the Russian army, South Koreans remain opposed to the transfer of weapons to Ukraine, this according to a survey released yesterday in conjunction with the arrival in Seoul of a Ukrainian delegation led by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, who met with President Yoon Suk-yeol and South Korean defence and intelligence officials.

"No to the South Korean government planning arms supply to Ukraine," read a banner held by a small group of protesters gathered outside Yoon's office in the capital.

In an interview with a local broadcaster, KBS, last month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he would submit a formal request for artillery equipment and an air defines system. But some observers note that the re-election of Donald Trump in the United States has injected uncertainty into the talks.

For now, no official statements have been released regarding a possible transfer of weapons, despite the fact that local media recently reported that this was precisely the purpose of the visit of the Ukrainian delegation.

Instead, Yoon’s office said that the two sides shared information about the growing military cooperation between Russia and North Korea to assess possible joint responses to security threats.

Despite the established practice of not supplying weapons to countries in conflict, President Yoon earlier this month said that, depending on the level of military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow, South Korea could consider providing direct military support to Ukraine.

Speaking to the TASS state news agency, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said that “Seoul must realize that the possible use of South Korean weapons to kill Russian citizens will fully destroy relations between our countries.” He added: “We will respond in every way that we find necessary.”

According to a survey by Gallup Korea in October, 82 per cent of South Koreans, while saying they fear the growing military ties between Russia and North Korea, oppose sending weapons.

The president’s main opposition, the Democratic Party of Korea, has criticised the government over the possibility of sending weapons to Ukraine, urging President Yoon to seek approval from Parliament, which it dominates since last April’s election.

South Korea has one of the largest stockpiles of artillery shells in the world and remains among the largest exporters of military equipment. In the last two years, in addition to sending weapons to the United States, it has struck several important defence agreements with Ukraine's neighbours (in particular Poland). According to a report released in June this year, only 10 per cent of orders have been fulfilled so far.

Since the news of the deployment of North Korean soldiers in Russia, Seoul has sent demining vehicles, bulletproof vests, and non-lethal equipment to Kyiv.

Yesterday, a US official confirmed to Radio Free Asia that some of the approximately 10,000 North Korean soldiers deployed in Kursk (the Russian region where the Ukrainian army launched an offensive in August) were killed in a Ukrainian attack (with UK-made missiles), but it is unclear how many; some Ukrainian media reported 500 North Korean soldiers killed, but the figure has not been confirmed by any government.

• south korea
• ukraine
• russia
• war
• weapons
• sale
• yoon suk-yeol
• rustem umerov