Defense Ministry says no change in lethal aid to Ukraine policy

Korea will continue providing only non-lethal aid to Ukraine, despite President Yoon Suk Yeol's recent pledge to provide more military aid to Kyiv

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky chat in front of Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv after their bilateral summit on Saturday. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

Korea will continue providing only non-lethal aid to Ukraine, despite President Yoon Suk Yeol's recent pledge to provide more military aid to Kyiv.

"There's been no change in the government's position that Korea will not provide lethal weapons," Jeon Ha-kyu, a Defense Ministry spokesman, said in a press briefing in Seoul on Monday.

Yoon in a bilateral summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Saturday agreed to provide Ukraine with a comprehensive package of security, humanitarian and reconstruction assistance through the so-called "Ukraine Peace and Solidarity Initiative."

The pledge came as Yoon made a surprise one-day visit to Ukraine at the tail end of his weeklong Europe tour, which earlier took him to Lithuania and Poland.

Under this initiative, Korea agreed to expand support to Ukraine, including safety equipment such as mine detectors and military supplies such as helmets and protective gear.

Jeon said following the first summit between the two countries' leaders at the end of May, Korea reviewed Ukraine's request for "active support," including demining equipment and ambulances. It decided to do so earlier this month and dispatched a transport plane to deliver the supplies.

The Ukraine Peace and Solidarity Initiative can be divided into nine packages — three for security, three for humanitarian and three for reconstruction assistance, said Kim Tae-hyo, principal deputy national security adviser, in a press briefing in Warsaw on Sunday.

Regarding security assistance, Yoon said Korea supports the Peace Formula Summit proposed by Zelensky to implement the 10 points of the Ukrainian Peace Formula, which includes the withdrawal of Russian troops, reparations and postwar security guarantees for Ukraine.

Korea also promised an expansion of military supplies as well as cooperation on mid- to long-term defense projects between Korea and Ukraine. The two sides further agreed on food and energy security cooperation.

In the humanitarian sector, Korea promised more safety equipment, such as demining equipment, and financial aid, including through international institutions such as the World Bank. Korea also plans to provide psychological treatment and other support to children caught up in the war.

"Ukraine's demand for mine detectors and mine-clearing equipment is very urgent, so we have decided to expand our aid," Kim said.

For the reconstruction package, Korea will support Ukraine through the Economic Development Cooperation Fund, to offer long-term, low-interest rate loans to help Ukraine rebuild infrastructure, as well as official development assistance grant aid.

Ukraine also requested direct investment in rechargeable batteries, electric vehicle production, telecommunications and the digital sector, said Kim, expressing hopes that Korean companies will invest.

Korea further promised education cooperation, including providing laptops and supporting learning programs. The two presidents will also establish a joint scholarship program for Ukrainian students to study in Korea.

During the summit, Yoon said Korea plans to provide Ukraine with an additional $150 million in humanitarian aid this year, following $100 million in 2022.

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, holds a meeting with aides to discuss a response to damage from heavy rains in Korea on the train en route to Warsaw, Poland, after a bilateral summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Saturday. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

The trip to Ukraine came unannounced, leading to the last-minute extension of Yoon's six-day Europe trip to include a stop by Kyiv on the itinerary.

Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska during her visit to Seoul in May delivered a personal letter from her husband inviting Yoon to her country, said Kim.

Another invitation was delivered through diplomatic channels before Yoon departed for the NATO summit in Vilnius, but the president didn't make a final decision until the last minute of his European tour.

Kim said that the presidential office couldn't make "a hasty decision," taking into consideration the president's personal safety and security matters.

The presidential couple's trip between Poland and Ukraine, involving a train ride, took 27 hours, he added. Yoon and first lady Kim Keon-hee were accompanied by a minimal staff in their 14 hours of travel to Kyiv and 13 hours back to Warsaw. The visit to Ukraine itself lasted 11 hours, and 110 minutes for the leaders' bilateral summit and joint press conference at the Mariinsky Palace.

It was the first time a Korean president visited a country at war where Korean troops were not deployed, hence the utmost secrecy.

But Yoon's visit is seen as a move to help Korean companies participate in postwar reconstruction projects in Ukraine in the future.

The United States, China and the European Union are already competing behind the scenes to partake in Ukrainian postwar reconstruction, being dubbed the "Second Marshall Plan," referring to the American initiative to aid in the economic recovery of nations after World War II.

The reconstruction project is expected to amount to some 2,000 trillion won ($1.5 billion), providing Korea with business opportunities exceeding $52 billion, or some 66 trillion won, according to the presidential office.

Yoon during his summit with Zelensky pushed forward such plans to cooperate with Ukraine in postwar infrastructure projects, which it plans to back with concessionary loans. Korea also signed agreements with Poland during Yoon's official visit to Warsaw securing cooperation between the two countries in reconstruction projects in Ukraine.

The trip was also an opportunity for the president to more accurately "experience in person and evaluate the situation in Ukraine to accurately identify what kind of specific cooperation was needed," Kim said.

He added that the visit was an extension of the Yoon administration's "practice of a value-based and responsible diplomacy," also supporting "close global solidarity" on issues going beyond Asia, to Europe and the world.

During the trip, which comes around 17 months after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Yoon and first lady Kim Keon-hee toured Bucha and Irpin, small cities near Kyiv hit hard by the war, and paid respects at the Wall of Remembrance of the Fallen for Ukraine in the capital. They also visited a human rights protection center at a national children's hospital.

After their summit, Zelensky and Yoon, accompanied by their first ladies, also visited Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, an architectural monument that dates back to the 11th century.

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hold a joint press conference at the Mariinsky Palace, the official presidential residence, in Kyiv on Saturday. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

Yoon and first lady Kim returned to Korea early Monday after an eight-day trip, longer than the anticipated six days.

The trip came amid mounting pressure for Korea to provide artillery shells to Ukraine, either directly or through another country, as evident through earlier leaked classified Pentagon documents indicating that U.S. intelligence authorities may have been spying on Korean discussions of ammunition to Ukraine.

Yoon told Reuters in an interview in April that Korea could provide assistance beyond humanitarian or economic support for Ukraine if there is a "large-scale attack on civilians." This was the first time Yoon suggested that Korea could potentially provide military aid.

However, to date, Korea has officially maintained the position it will not provide lethal aid to countries at war.

Yoon and Zelensky held their first bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Group of 7 summit in Hiroshima in May, where Korea promised more humanitarian aid.

Both leaders attended the NATO summit in Vilnius last week, where the Atlantic alliance reiterated its support for Ukraine and said they "condemn in the strongest terms Russia's blatant violations of international law" in a joint communiqué.

Following the latest bilateral summit between Yoon and Zelensky, Deputy Security Adviser Kim likewise refused to confirm if there were plans to provide lethal weapons to Ukraine.

A group of Democratic Party (DP) lawmakers of the parliamentary defense, foreign affairs and intelligence committees hold a joint press conference criticizing President Yoon Suk Yeol’s surprise visit to Ukraine at the National Assembly in western Seoul Monday. [YONHAP]

People Power Party lawmakers praised Yoon's diplomatic strategy as sophisticated, putting an emphasis on the shared values of freedom and solidarity, while economically laying the foundation for reconstruction projects.

However, the liberal Democratic Party (DP) on Monday lambasted Yoon's surprise visit to Ukraine as possibly jeopardizing relations with Russia.

The DP members of the parliamentary defense, foreign affairs and intelligence committees held a press conference at the National Assembly in western Seoul and called the visit another "diplomatic disaster," which came amid large casualties in Korea because of heavy rains, flooding and landslides.

"President Yoon's sudden appearance in Ukraine, who was invisible in the midst of a national disaster, is a move that could endanger the security of the Republic of Korea," said the DP lawmakers, including Chairman Lee Jae-myung, in a statement.

They especially criticized Yoon's statement, made in a joint press conference with Zelensky, where he said, "If we fight together in solidarity in the spirit of life and death, we will surely be able to protect freedom and democracy."

The lawmakers claimed such remarks could endanger the lives of some 160,000 Koreans living in Russia and put at risk 160 Korean companies operating there.

DP Rep. Kim Eui-kyeom, a member of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee, told reporters afterward, "President Yoon's actions and words are the same as pushing the fate of our country and nation into the Gungpyeong Underpass." He referred to the flooded underpass in Osong-eup, Cheongju, North Chungcheong, a site of multiple deaths over the weekend.

Yoon's Ukraine visit "doesn't antagonize Russia," a presidential official told reporters on Monday, saying the trip "only backs the basic principle of the Korean government to support Ukraine."

First Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin also brushed away concerns that Yoon's visit to Ukraine may sour relations with Russia Monday.

"Of course, they wouldn't like it, but we didn't step over the line of aggravating or destroying relations," Chang told SBS in a radio interview when asked about concerns over worsening relations between Seoul and Moscow.

He said that the two countries have a "formula of sorts in managing Korea-Russia relations after the war in Ukraine," which he said involves a "kind of tacit agreement that manages the relationship while tolerating each other to a certain extent."

Chang added, "It is significant that we expressed our strong support for Ukraine as a responsible member of the international community, showing that we will do our part as a global pivotal state, advocating a responsible diplomacy."

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, right, greets Ukrainian children at a national children's hospital in Kyiv on Saturday. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, and first lady Kim Keon-hee arrive on the presidential jet at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Monday morning after an eight-day trip that took them to Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]