(Seoul) South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol paid a surprise visit to Ukraine on Saturday, during which he visited the city of Boutcha, scene of a massacre of civilians blamed on the Russian army, before a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, the presidency said.
“The president first visited the site of the Boutcha massacre, near the capital Kyiv, as well as the town of Irpin, where the missile attacks were concentrated on civilian residential areas,” said the southern presidency. Korea, specifying that the meeting between the two leaders would take place later in the day.
SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENCY PHOTO VIA AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon-hee gather in front of a memorial in Boucha.
“President Yoon Suk Yeol will visit a memorial for the war dead to lay a wreath and hold a summit meeting with President Zelensky,” the presidency said in a statement.
South Korea, the world’s ninth-largest arms exporter, sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine and also sold tanks and howitzers to Poland, a key Kyiv ally against Russian forces.
However, the Asian country has a long-standing policy of not supplying arms to regions in conflict, despite repeated pleas from the United States, European allies and Ukraine itself for more aid. important.
The meeting between Mr. Yoon and Mr. Zelensky, who has previously urged South Korea to supply arms directly to Ukraine, was to focus on Seoul’s aid.
PHOTO UKRAINIAN PRESIDENCY VIA AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky received his South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk Yeol in Kyiv.
South Korea, which remains technically at war with nuclear-armed North Korea, produces large volumes of weapons compatible with NATO weaponry, including tanks, howitzers and ammunition highly sought after shells.
Seoul has hinted it may reconsider its policy of not supplying lethal weapons, as the president’s office indicated earlier this year that a large-scale Russian attack on civilians could be a game-changer.
In May, South Korea denied US media reports of future deliveries of shells to Ukraine, saying its decision not to deliver lethal weapons to Kyiv remained unchanged.
Experts point out, however, that South Korea is in a delicate position due to its economic ties with Russia (its fifteenth largest trading partner in 2022) as well as Moscow’s influence over North Korea.