A Ukrainian delegation led by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov is visiting South Korea this week to seek weapons aid from Seoul. Ukraine is seeking weapons to de Kyiv in its war with Russia, according to media reports.
The delegation had met with South Korea’s National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik to exchange views on the conflict in Ukraine, a South Korean news outlet reported on Wednesday, without giving a source.
The South China Morning Post also reported this week that a Ukrainian delegation was due to visit South Korea to request weapons aid, citing an informed source.
The delegation was expected to meet with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol as early as Wednesday, the Yonhap news agency reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Asked for comment, an official at Yoon’s office declined to confirm the reports.
A spokesperson for South Korea’s defence ministry also declined to confirm whether a Ukrainian delegation had arrived in Seoul during a regular media briefing on Tuesday.
In an interview with South Korean broadcaster KBS in October, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv would send a detailed request to Seoul for arms support including artillery and an air defence systems.
Ukrainian media, quoting a video distributed by the defence ministry of a conference Umerov held this week with counterparts from Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Poland, said participants had examined Ukraine’s urgent defence needs.
The reports said Umerov stressed the need for advanced air defence systems in the face of intensified Russian attacks on infrastructure and also for more artillery ammunition.
Seoul, which has emerged as a leading arms producer, has been under pressure from some Western countries and Kyiv to provide Ukraine with lethal weapons but has so far focused on non-lethal aid including demining equipment.
South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, asked earlier this month whether Seoul would send weapons to Ukraine in response to North Korea aiding Russia, said all possible scenarios were under consideration and Seoul would be watching the level of participation by North Korean soldiers in Russia and what Pyongyang received from Moscow in return.
Team Bharatshakti
(With inputs from Reuters)
