The South Korean President’s surprise visit to Ukraine aims to strengthen bilateral ties and explore avenues for support for Ukraine.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol made a surprise visit to Ukraine on Saturday to hold talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Yonhap reported, citing the South Korean presidential office.
This visit comes in the wake of Yoon’s participation in a NATO summit in Lithuania and his subsequent trip to Poland, during which he expressed support for Ukraine and explored avenues to assist the country in the war with Russia.
After ceremonial visits to different sites, President Yoon was expected to hold a summit meeting with President Zelenskiy, where discussions on various matters of mutual interest were anticipated, the report added.
Although the South Korean presidential office did not immediately respond to requests for comment, it is known that South Korea, as a staunch ally of the United States, has faced mounting pressure to provide weapons to Ukraine.
However, Yoon’s administration has favored providing humanitarian and financial aid, wary of potential repercussions from Russia if they would send weapons to Kiev.
In May, South Korea reaffirmed its unchanged stance of not providing weapons to Kiev and dismissed a US media report suggesting the transfer of artillery rounds to Ukraine; however, experts caution that South Korea’s delicate situation arises from its economic relations with Russia, ranking as its 15th largest trading partner in 2022.
President Yoon’s visit to Ukraine underscores South Korea’s commitment to providing assistance and support to Ukraine in its ongoing conflict. As the situation continues to evolve, international attention remains focused on the actions taken by various nations to alleviate the crisis and promote peace in the region.
Back in January, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg urged South Korea to “step up” military support for Ukraine, advising it to reconsider its policy of not sending weapons to countries in conflict.
The NATO Secretary-General said that countries like Germany and Norway had “long-standing policies not to export weapons to countries in conflict,” which they “revised” after the war in Ukraine started in February last year.
“If we believe in freedom, democracy, if we don’t want autocracy and totalitarian to win then they need weapons,” he said, speaking at the Chey Institute in Seoul.
source: Almayadeen
