A Ukrainian delegation led by its defense chief was due in South Korea to meet President Yoon Suk Yeol and discuss Seoul’s potential arms support for Kyiv, media reports said Wednesday.
The reported trip comes as South Korea signaled it could reverse a long-standing policy of not providing weapons to countries in conflict following revelations that North Korea had deployed thousands of troops to aid Russia’s war efforts against Ukraine.
The Ukrainian delegation, headed by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, is expected to “share intelligence on North Korea’s troop deployment to Russia” and seek South Korea’s support for Kyiv’s war efforts, Yonhap news agency reported, citing unnamed sources.
Yoon’s presidential office declined to confirm the report.
Earlier this month, Yoon said whether – or how – South Korea decides to help Ukraine directly depends on “the level of North Korean involvement,” adding that Seoul was “not ruling out the possibility of providing weapons.”
If South Korea were to supply arms, the initial batch would be defensive in nature, Yoon said.
Ukraine is reliant on Western air defense systems, particularly Patriots, to protect itself from Russian missile barrages – and has been calling for more deliveries.
South Korea, which remains technically at war with the nuclear-armed North and has maintained production of weaponry long overlooked by Western arms industries, could make a significant impact if it decides to supply weapons, experts say.