2023-05-16 11:53:00
In this photo provided by the South Korean Presidential Office, President Yoon Suk Yeol, center right, meets with Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska at the presidential office, in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, May 16, 2023. (Photo: South Korean Presidential Office via AP)
Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska requested non-lethal military hardware when meeting with President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul on Tuesday, according to a presidential spokesperson.
Zelenska is visiting Seoul as the Ukrainian presidential envoy. Yoon greeted her expressing her condolences to the victims and the Ukrainian people, spokesman Lee Do-woon said.
The first lady asked South Korea to provide non-lethal military equipment such as mine detectors, demining equipment and first aid vehicles. She also expressed her hope that South Korean companies would participate in Ukraine’s reconstruction process, Lee said.
He did not ask for lethal weapons and said he understood South Korea’s difficulties in providing them to Ukraine, according to an official in the presidential office.
Since the war in Ukraine broke out, South Korea has firmly maintained its stance of not providing lethal weapons to a country at war.
Yoon, in response, said South Korea would “actively support Ukraine” in cooperation with NATO countries and the international community, Lee added.
Zelenska also met separately with South Korean First Lady Kim Keon Hee, who praised the “courageous and devoted” efforts Zelenska has made in the midst of a war, Lee said.
More information: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg earlier this year urged South Korea to reconsider its policy not to export arms to countries in conflict so that it might help arm Ukraine. Stoltenberg cited Germany, Norway and Sweden, a candidate country for NATO membership, as countries that have changed their arms export policy to help Ukraine.
In addition, an alleged leaked US intelligence document showed a detailed conversation between two senior South Korean national security officials regarding the country’s National Security Council’s concern over a US request for ammunition that the United States would send to Ukraine. According to the document, one of the officials then suggested a way to circumvent the policy without actually changing it: sell the ammunition to Poland. The document sparked controversy in Seoul.
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