Yoon Suk Yeol, the president of South Korea, stated on Thursday that Seoul would maintain close relations with Ukraine and maintain a” smooth” relationship with Russia, while forbidding direct weapons shipments to Kyiv.
Seoul has long been asked by US and Western allies to support Kyiv because it exports significant amounts of weapons.
However, Yoon asserted to reporters that it was his “firm position” never to give countries in fight lethal weapons.
Yoon claimed that his nation was working “in comply with the constitution’s spirit” to deliver humanitarian and rebuilding assistance.
What Seoul and neighbour Washington claim are arms supplies from North Korea to Russia for use in Ukraine, according to Yoon, havestrained their relations with Moscow.
According to Yoon,” North Korea’s trade of unpleasant weapons evidently violates UN Security Council sanctions resolutions relating to North Korea’s nuclear weapons, in addition to supporting the unlawful waging of war against Ukraine.”
Yoon said he would operate with Russia despite the hostilities that Moscow and him have over alleged arms talks with North Korea.
He claimed that” we have had a great partnership for a long time with Russia.”
We have various opinions regarding the introduction of arms to North Korea, he continued.
We will work together on a case-by-case basis with Russia, and we may disagree or be afraid based on differences in position, but we will control our relationship as smoothly as possible.
He declined to respond to a question about what he would consider to be Seoul’s “red series” in regards to reviewing its non-lethal weapons program against Ukraine.
Seoul has huge harboured ambitions to join the ranks of the world’s leading arms exporters– aiming to be the third largest, behind the United States, Russia and France– something that is then possible, industry research indicates.
Washington has also been able to purchase artillery shells thanks to a “final person” contract, which means that just the United States can use the weapons.
According to experts, this enables the US to finally supply Kyiv with their own shells.
Conflicts in the 1950 to 1953 Korean War ended with an ceasefire, hardly a peace treaty, and Seoul remains officially at war with atomic- military Pyongyang.
