Rejected, Ukraine continues to ask South Korea to provide weapons

Korea rejected Ukraine’s offer supply weapons air defense because of its “principled stance” on not supplying lethal weapons to a country at war, a South Korean defense ministry official said on Wednesday.

According to the official, who asked not to be named, the offer of weapons was made when Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov spoke by phone with his South Korean counterpart Suh Wook on April 8.

“The Minister of Defense of Ukraine asked South Korea to provide anti-aircraft weapons and Minister Suh politely repeated the principled position of the South Korean government that its aid is limited to non-missile weapons. damage,” the official told SCMP.

The Chosun newspaper quoted a South Korean Defense Ministry official as saying that Reznikov wanted Seoul to supply the “Shingung” man-portable surface-to-air missile – known as “Chiron” in the international market.

The Shingung missile has proven to be highly effective against low-flying targets such as helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft.

Korea provided Ukraine with about 1 billion won ($813,100) of non-lethal military supplies, including bulletproof helmets, blankets and medical supplies.

Even though it was rejected, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky still repeated the request for weapons support when speaking online before the National Assembly of Korea on April 11. Zelensky asked South Korea for military support to help Ukraine fend off a Russian attack, saying that Kiev needed various military technologies, including planes and tanks.

“Korea can help Ukraine. South Korea has military assets that can intercept Russian ships and missiles,” Zelensky was quoted as saying by South Korean lawmakers.

Last month, the Ukrainian president also delivered an online address to the Japanese parliament, calling on Tokyo to impose a trade embargo against Moscow. Japan has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia, and although it has no plans to send weapons to Ukraine, Tokyo has shipped nonlethal military aid to Kiev.

Last week, Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong told the members NATO in Brussels that Seoul plans to provide Ukraine with additional humanitarian aid worth $30 million.

Ukraine has received about 25,000 anti-aircraft weapons from the United States and its allies, helping Kiev to prevent Russia from establishing air superiority. General Mark Milley – Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff – said that the US and its allies have also provided Ukraine with 60,000 anti-tank weapons.

President Zelensky directly appealed to the US lawmakers and the White House in his address to the US Congress, requesting to quickly send weapons capable of protecting Ukraine’s skies from missile and aerial attacks. not of Russia.