Several western countries and Ukraine have repeatedly pressured South Korea to supply weapons to the Ukrainian armed forces.
The delegation of the Ukrainian administration is the Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov on a visit to South Korea this week, according to the media in Asia.
The delegation is asking for weapon aid for the Ukrainian army to use in the war against Russia.
The delegation has met with South Korea’s national security adviser Shin Won-sik too and exchanged views on the war in Ukraine, the South Korean DongA Ilbo newspaper reported on Tuesday, without elaborating on its source.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi said in an interview with South Korea’s public broadcaster KBS in October that Ukraine plans to send the South Korean administration a detailed request for arms assistance, which would include artillery and air defense equipment.
The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post also reported this week that a Ukrainian delegation is coming to visit South Korea to ask for military assistance. According to the newspaper’s sources, the defense ministers of Ukraine and South Korea will meet each other on Wednesday.
However, on Tuesday, a spokesman for South Korea’s defense ministry declined to comment at a daily press conference when asked if the Ukrainian delegation had already arrived in the country.
South Korea has become a major weapons manufacturer and some Western countries have pressured the country to supply weapons to the Ukrainian army. So far, South Korea has been content to deliver other military equipment, such as equipment used for demining, instead of weapons.
When from the South Korean Foreign Minister From Cho Tae-yul was asked earlier this month about possible arms deliveries to Ukraine, he said that all possible patterns were under consideration. The South Korean administration also monitors the participation of North Korean troops sent to support Russia in the war in Ukraine, as well as what North Korea receives from Russia in compensation.
Source: Reuters