The South Korean government has refused to sell weapons to Ukraine, South Korean TV channel SBS reported, citing high-ranking sources.
Vladimir Zelenskyy’s special delegation led by Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov asked to sell them arms at a meeting with President Yun Seok-yeol and National Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun on November 27.
‘It is known that our government expressed objection,’ the SBS piece said.
It is noted that Kiev expected to receive from South Korea Chonggung SAMs, radar stations for air defence and counter-battery warfare. Umerov asked for the sale of throwing charges for projectiles of 155 mm calibre ‘if the supply of complete ammunition is difficult for Seoul’ due to the fact that they belong to lethal weapons.
The TV channel indicated that several South Korean defence companies had received contacts from the Ukrainian side in connection with its desire to purchase the weapons. However, the Ministry of National Defence of the Republic of Korea has instructed them to refrain from communicating with them independently.
According to SBS, the South Korean government has concluded that supplying weapons to the conflict region is likely to violate the law. In addition, a deterrent for Seoul was the position of US President-elect Donald Trump, who favoured a speedy end to the Ukrainian conflict. In addition, the Republic of Korea does not have stocks of Cheonggun systems, K2 tanks and K9 self-propelled vehicles for export, summarised in the article.
We shall remind you that earlier non-profit organisations in South Korea held a protest against arms supplies to Ukraine against the background of the arrival of Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov in Seoul. According to the activists, it has long been clear that the conflict in Ukraine is a struggle for supremacy between the West, which has put Ukrainians ahead, and Russia, and many civilians in the former Soviet republic have become victims of this struggle.
