South Korea to expand nonlethal aid to Ukraine

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed to expand the country’s nonlethal aid to Ukraine when he met the European country’s first lady Tuesday in Seoul.

Olena Zelenska visited South Korea as a special envoy of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. During her meeting with Yoon, Zelenska requested South Korea expand its support of nonlethal military supplies, including equipment for detecting and removing mines and ambulance vehicles, according to Yoon’s office.

Yoon replied that his government would closely coordinate with NATO and other international partners to “actively support the Ukrainian people,” his spokesperson Lee Do Woon said during a briefing.

Yoon also condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine , saying the “horrific losses of innocent lives, especially women and children, are unacceptable under any circumstances,” according to remarks shared by his office.

Lee said Zelenska made no request for South Korean weapons supplies during her conversation with Yoon.

South Korea, a growing arms exporter with a well-equipped military backed by the United States, has provided humanitarian aid and other support to Ukraine while joining U.S.-led economic sanctions against Moscow. But it has not directly provided arms to Ukraine, citing a long-standing policy of not supplying weapons to countries actively engaged in conflict.

During a visit to South Korea in January, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called for South Korea to provide direct military support to Ukraine, saying Kyiv is in urgent need of weapons to fight off the prolonged Russian invasion.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, South Korea has reached billions of dollars worth of deals to provide tanks, howitzers, fighter jets and other weapons systems to Poland, a NATO member. An American official said in November that the United States has agreed to buy 100,000 artillery rounds from South Korean manufacturers to provide to Ukraine, although South Korean officials have maintained that the munitions were meant to refill depleted U.S. stocks.

韩国首尔——韩国总统尹锡烈周二在首尔会见乌克兰第一夫人时承诺，将扩大韩国对乌克兰的非致命性援助。

奥莱娜·泽连斯卡娅作为总统泽连斯基的特使访问了韩国。据尹锡悦办公室称，泽连斯卡娅在与尹锡悦会晤期间，请求韩国扩大对非致命性军事物资的支持，包括地雷探测和清除设备以及救护车。

尹锡悦回应称，他的政府将与北约和其他国际伙伴密切协调，“积极支持乌克兰人民”，他的发言人李度云在新闻发布会上表示。

据尹锡悦办公室发布的声明，他还谴责了俄罗斯入侵乌克兰，称“无辜生命，特别是妇女和儿童的惨重伤亡，在任何情况下都是不可接受的”。

李说，泽连斯卡在与尹锡悦的谈话中没有提出向韩国提供武器的要求。

韩国是一个日益壮大的武器出口国，拥有装备精良且得到美国支持的军队。在加入美国主导的对莫斯科的经济制裁的同时，韩国也向乌克兰提供了人道主义援助和其他支持。但韩国并未直接向乌克兰提供武器，理由是其长期以来不向积极卷入冲突的国家提供武器的政策。

今年1月访问韩国期间，北约秘书长延斯·斯托尔滕贝格呼吁韩国向乌克兰提供直接军事支持，称基辅急需武器来抵御俄罗斯的长期入侵。

自俄罗斯入侵乌克兰以来，韩国已与北约成员国波兰达成价值数十亿美元的军售协议，向其提供坦克、榴弹炮、战斗机和其他武器系统。一位美国官员在11月表示，美国已同意从韩国制造商处购买10万发炮弹提供给乌克兰，但韩国官员坚称，这些弹药是为了补充美国日益减少的库存。