As President Yoon Seok-yeol hinted at the possibility of military aid to Ukraine, which is at war with Russia, attention is focused on whether there will be related discussions within the government. Some observers say, “Isn’t the government already pursuing a plan to directly provide lethal or defensive weapons to the Ukrainian military?”
Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February of last year, the South Korean government has maintained its stance that “lethal weapons support is impossible” despite demands from Ukrainian authorities and Western countries such as the United States, and has only provided economic and humanitarian aid. Some of the military supplies supplied to Ukraine were also ‘non-lethal’ items such as bulletproof vests, helmets, gas masks, emergency food, and emergency medicine.
The government’s policy has been interpreted as a ‘strategy’ to avoid aggravating Korea-Russia relations, taking into account the business environment of Korean companies operating in Russia and Russia’s influence on North Korea.
However, President Yoon hinted at the possibility of providing lethal weapons to Ukraine in an interview with Reuters reported on the 19th ahead of his state visit to the United States next week. This is the first time since the start of the war in February last year.
In this interview, President Yoon said, “If a situation that the international community cannot tolerate, such as a large-scale attack or massacre on civilians or a serious violation of international law in wartime, arises, it will be difficult to insist on humanitarian or financial assistance.” I believe there is no limit to the scope of assistance to defend and restore a country that has been illegally invaded.”
In this regard, it is a general opinion inside and outside the government that it is worth noting that President Yoon directly hinted at the possibility of military aid to Ukraine, even though he presented △large-scale attacks and massacres against civilians △serious violation of international law in wartime as prerequisites.
Until now, the South Korean government has provided “circumvention assistance” to Ukraine by selling or leasing 155mm shells to third countries, including the United States. However, in the light of President Yoon’s interview this time, observations are made that “depending on the situation in the future, a situation where weapons and ammunition are directly airlifted to Ukraine without passing through these countries cannot be ruled out.”
Dmitro Ponomarenko, Ambassador of Ukraine to Korea.2023.2.23/News1 ⓒ News1 In a video greeting sent to the Korea-US Alliance Forum on the 30th of last month, Ambassador Dmitro Ponomarenko said, “Ukraine desperately needs military equipment.” We will be able to provide minesweeping equipment and weapons.”
In addition, there are rumors from inside and outside the military that “the dispatch of troops can be considered as one of the aid measures to Ukraine” in relation to President Yoon’s interview this time. However, the prevailing view is that “there is not much possibility of realization at present” in that ‘dispatching troops’ is an issue that requires the consent of the Korean National Assembly along with the request of Ukraine.
However, there are also observations that the possibility of dispatching troops to the engineering units that will participate in the reconstruction process after the end of the war in Ukraine is “open”. It is interpreted that President Yoon’s talk of ‘recovery’ along with ‘defense’ of Ukraine in this Reuters interview may be related to this.
In the same context, even if the Korean government decides to support weapons systems to Ukraine, there is a view that “it will give priority to ‘defense’ rather than ‘offensive’.”
Regarding this, a military official said, “The government will be able to consider various support measures to protect Ukraine’s freedom,” but said that support beyond non-lethal weapons cannot be predicted at this time.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.